The following problems in the field of educational organization are examined in terms of a Peruvian case study: prerequisites for community participation in national planning; national planning which starts at the local level; integration of formal and nonformal education programs at the local level to meet the needs of the total local population; integration of educational programs with other social development and production programs; and the extent to which local and regional authorities can act on their own in the face of barriers at the central level. Illustrating the manner in which these problems might be addressed, Peru's educational plan is described as one based upon the Community Education Nucleus (CEN) concept. CEN is described as involving many educational nuclei, each of which serves elementary and secondary education institutions within a prescribed area of control and includes the following hierarchical structure; a zonal chief; a sub-zonal coordinator; a CEN director supported by an administrative support unit, a community education council (parent, community, and teaching interests), and the educational development team (four specialists in kindergarten and basic regular education, extension education, basic laboral education, and student orientation and welfare). The aggregate of nuclei needs and plans is identified as constituting the zonal, regional, and national educational objectives. (JC)