This monograph by educator-philosopher Eli Ginzberg, commisioned by the Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation, examines the transition from school to work, exploring why the transition is so hard for some groups of young people, relatively easy for others. The point of the book is not to add one more research report to the literature dealing with detailed aspects of the educational system or of the labor market for youth. Rather, the monograph strives to set out the critical interfacing between these two large systems--the school and the world of work--with regard for the way in which each is affected in turn by the family and the larger society. The book's seven chapters explore the following concepts: the background of the concern for youth unemployment and the origins of youth employment programs; theories about youth unemployment; statistics on employment and unemployment for affluent and poor, white and black youth; the role of the family in the preparation of youth, environmental differences between white and minority youth, the problems of inner city schools, and the differing conditions of earlier immigrant groups and today's ghetto residents; the role of the military as a shaping experience for youth; school as the opportunity matrix, and how different population groups relate to school; programs in both school and the labor market aimed at improving the employability of youth; and recommendations for improving the transition from school to work. A list of suggested readings is included. (KC)