Abstract
In the course of humanity, planning has been consolidated as an activity inherent to the human being. If within each social community planning has been fundamental, there is no doubt that as such, it has permeated education, based on the forecast and achievement of the model of society and future citizen, to which that community aspires. It is from the second half of the 20th century that educational planning has its origin, as it is considered essential for economic and social expansion. Since then, two areas of development of educational planning can begin to be identified.
The first area is planning in the context of the social community: State-Country, and the second is planning in the context of the organization or educational center. The purpose of the essay lies in analyzing the planning of education from the State-Country level, due to its relevance in the articulation of education to the needs of economic development and social change of 21st century societies.
Based on the documentary research approach, it begins with the study of the elements of the planning scenario to continue with the conceptual examination of the meaning and purpose of educational planning. It ends with a description of the phases of the planning process from the scope of the State-Country community. The conclusions highlight the educational planning process as the strategy to achieve the image of society and citizen, predetermined by the social community.