In 1972, an education delegation of administrators in higher education visited preschool through higher education schools in Russia and Bulgaria and participated in informal seminars with directors and faculty of various institutions. In this paper one member of that delegation who visited schools in Moscow, Leningrad, and Sophia, Bulgaria discusses educational practice, planning, and trends that he observed. The paper is divided into the following sections: (1) A Frame of Reference (which identifies significant prejudices and difficulties that one encounters in attempting to understand a foreign culture during a brief visit); (2) National Planning Viewed in Context of Education Goals; (3) Perceptions of Soviet National Planning Styles; and (4) Soviet and United States Mechanisms for Implementing Change. (Author/RM)