An adequate theory of educational administration demands an emphasis on understanding rather than legitimation; the inclusion of qualitative as well as quantitative constructs; and the incorporation of philosophical concerns, especially those dealing with epistemology and ethics. Developments in the "new sociology" of education and in the ethnography of schooling offer the possibility of developing such a theory which would focus on the relationships between structures of knowledge and of control, the influence of educational administration in mediating such structures, and its impact on the processes of cultural negotiation and transmission. The new sociology of education claims that previous studies of education have failed to examine the assumptions that lay behind the sociological analysis of schooling. Over the past decade, a substantial body of ethnographic and observational data has become available that cannot be adequately interpreted within the currently dominant bureaucratic/organizational models of schooling. The established need to include assessments of people's understanding, aspirations, meanings, and interests in any analysis of educational organizations is clearly capable of amalgamation with the traditions of educational ethnography. The alternative theory, outlined here, might be based upon Weick's application of loose coupling to educational administration, with the addition of a cultural dimension. (Author/WD)