This report of a field study, conducted from 1966 to 1968, discusses the functional relationships between the class structure of Peruvian society and the structure and content of the country's educational system. Four educational subsystems are closely tied to each of the four main social groups: Blancos (upper class, comprising 0.1% of the total population); Mestizos (middle class, 20.4%); Cholos (lower class, 22.8%); and Indians (marginal, 56.7%). Special attention is given to the mechanisms of internal domination and colonization, reflecting the influence of Lima as the country's power center and cultural, social, and financial metropolis. The growth and problems of Peruvian public education between 1958 and 1968 are discussed and an explanatory model is outlined that describes each of the four social groups in terms of their location in the country's social hierarchy, their physical location (whether urban or rural), the languages they speak, their occupations, the schools they usually attend, and their usual length of schooling. (JK)