ABSTRACT
The new institutionalism has transformed social-science theory over the past decade or two, and, as it finds its way into the education field, there is every reason for optimism about the prospccts for a theory of educational institutions. Progress will not be easy or straightforward, however, for the new institutionalism is not a single theory that can simply be applied to education. It is a diverse intellectual movement whose schools of thought range from rational choice to garbage can theory, from Marxism to institutional sociology. The challenge for education scholars is to make productive use of this eclectic body of work, selecting its most promising theoretical tools and adapting them to the substance and concerns of their own field.
