The world of work is composed of contradictory conditions which schooling tries to mediate through a reproductive process. The present organization of production based on wage-labor is inherently self-contradictory in that the interests of management and labor are directly opposed. School prepares individuals to deal with the types of peer relationships, authority figures, knowledge, and control over work content that they will eventually face on the job. This preparation, or correspondence of schooling to working conditions, facilitates workers' acceptance of the social and structural composition of labor. However, the mechanisms of this correspondence are beginning to break down, and a "crisis in education" is resulting. As jobs become more routinized and simplified to reduce costs and training time, school credentials are losing much of their meaning. No longer does a high level of academic achievement guarantee a high-paying, high-status job. As a result of this breakdown, workers are becoming increasingly disillusioned and cynical about the job market, and are applying pressure for more democratic, participatory forms of work organization. If such changes do occur in the world of work, then schooling processes must change in a corresponding fashion. (ELG)