Description: In recent years, the principle of networking and collaboration has become more prevalent and more widely studied in organizations both in the private and public sectors. In education there has been an increased emphasis on schools collaborating for improvement, particularly in socio-economically disadvantaged areas. This has come about following a realisation of the limitations of both individual school-based and externally driven approaches to school improvement While it may be said that the idea of networks in education comes largely from practitioners and researchers with a practical school improvement focus, there is a strong theoretical literature stressing the value of collaboration to organisations. While this theoretical basis has frequently been described by the shorthand 'network theory', three main theoretical perspectives can be seen to underlie network theory: constructivist organisational theory, the theory of social capital, and Durkheimian network theory. In this paper we will discuss these three main theoretical approaches, and what empirical evidence exists for them in the field of collaboration for school improvement. Constructivist organisational theory sees organisations as sense-making systems creating shared perceptions and interpretations of reality. This entails that each organisation will to a certain extent have its own unique perception of reality, albeit one that is anchored in its context. This sense-making function is essential for organisations to function effectively, but runs the risk of becoming myopic, in that it may be closed to external influences leading to a disconnection with alternative realities and the environment (Noteboom, 2004). It is this myopia that may be addressed through collaboration with other organisations that can provide access to complementary cognitions.A related theory on the importance of collaboration focuses on the value of collaboration in creating social capital. The value of collaboration is then seen as lying in the its ability to harness resources held by other actors, in increasing the flow of information in a network, and in the fact that a network may itself exert more influence on its social and political surroundings than individual actors (Lin,1999; Burt, 1992). Another perspective on the importance of collaboration is provided by looking at Durkheimian notions of anomie. Anomie commonly occurs when society is undergoing rapid change, and when there is a significant discrepancy between the ideological theories and values individuals and society hold and their actual practices (Giddens, 1986; Durkheim, 1972). According to Durkheim (1972), anomie results from a lack of strong ties and the regulation and integration that they bring. This concept can be usefully applied to schools facing challenging circumstances, which find themselves in situations of considerable stress and change with few ties to other schools or their community, while often struggling to balance values of inclusiveness and social justice with the demands of performativity and competition that are foisted upon them. Networking may help alleviate organisational anomie through providing integration and regulation with schools that share their values and goals. Methodology: The paper is based on a thorough literature search and reflection on network theory, which is linked to a literature search on the impact of networking in education, as well as findings from a number of UK studies the authors of this paper have been involved in. Conclusions: We will test the empirical relevance of these theories to school collaborations, and attempt to draw lessons for practice that may arise from them. It is hypothesised that a stronger theoretical understanding of networks may help practitioners and researchers to more effectively design models of collaboration that can help schools serving disadvantaged communities face the challenges that confront them.