This paper presents a critique of various theoretical traditions in the study of schooling. Both the predominant liberal tradition of social and educational theory, with its roots firmly in structural functionalism and human capital theory, and the more radical reproduction tradition, which builds largely on Marxian and Weberian analyses of society, are found to be inadequate in enabling satisfactory understanding of schools as organizations. Neither seems capable of affording satisfactory explanations of the mediations of large-scale social, cultural, and economic influences and structures in the specific circumstances of individual schools. A research approach is therefore advocated for bridging the gap between macro- and micro-analyses, and for working toward a more complete understanding of schools as organizations. Six pages of references conclude the paper. (TE)