There is disagreement about whether education for the future ought to be more general or more specific than is currently the case. Those who believe that the technologically based world of the future will require more job-specific or highly specialized skills advocate more specialized and vocational training in the schools. Those who see future work as becoming "deskilled" emphasize the importance of a broad course of studies. Evidence regarding this debate indicates that there is a pressing need to develop the type of curriculum that will best prepare students not for specific jobs but for a range of tasks required in the near future. Adaptability to change is demanded by rapid technological development, but an increasingly specialized curriculum may not produce workers able to adjust to continuing changes in the tools and conditions of work. Other skills identified as important to modern society--analysis and critical thinking, organizational and reference skills, creativity and ability to communicate--call for both general and specialized training. Thus a general foundation should be emphasized in the formative elementary and secondary years, and at the same time, high schools will need to prepare a sufficient number of highly skilled students in technical fields. (JM)