The section on "organizational structure and governance" in the sixth edition of the Encyclopedia of Educational Research differs from other editions. It is the first that reflects with some breadth and depth alternative, neo-orthodox perspectives that challenge the traditional understandings of organizing and governing. This nonorthodox body of theory and research is represented in both the methodology of inquiry and the substantive findings of that inquiry. This paper describes the nature of the nonorthodox challenge represented in the encyclopedia and illustrate that challenge in a set of substantive areas. These include the nature of the nonorthodox challenge in terms of the different perspectives on the nature of knowledge, different ways of inquiring, and the impact of the nature of society and the relationship of societal change to social relationships among individuals in organizations. Four substantive illustrations are given to demonstrate how nonorthodox perspectives have altered understanding of organizations and organizing: (1) the role of goals; (2) the processes of decision making; (3) the nature of organizational culture or the social construction of reality; and (4) the nature and processes of organizational change. (RR)