This article deals with the expansion of the private higher education in Brazil in the 1990's based on the institutional changes involving the State in twentieth century, highlighting the crisis of the 1980's and culminating in the search for a new model in the last decade of analysis. It is worth pointing out that there is still no clarity concerning the relationship between State and Society, even in the twenty-first century. Given that the State has fewer instruments to direct action, it has not managed to reduce its size, has difficulty with regulatory operations and also has a reasonable interest in being constituted as the Welfare State. In this context, it becomes easier to understand the current expansion in that it is an aspect of change and not an isolated phenomenon. As a methodological approach, thirty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted, and others read authors who have dealt with the subject. The main conclusions are given in this text.
private high school education; State transformation; institutional theory
