Educational planning is presently confronted by an identity crisis. As long as it was believed that educational expansion was a principal ingredient for securing economic growth, democratic political processes, and greater equality of economics and social participation, the tenets and practice of educational planning were rarely questioned. However, in recent years the failure of education and educational expansion to produce economic growth, political democracy, and reduction of inequalities have raised serious questions about the role of educational planning. Four specific roles of educational planning include logistics, technocratics, politics, and research. When planners convert political decisions into actual accomplishment by ascertaining the specific resource needs and details of implementation, their endeavors are said to involve logistics. The activities of educational planners as technocrats are characterized as using technical skills and principles to accomplish educational goals without regard for values. Educational planning becomes an expression of politics when it contributes to a political agenda. Educational planning as research involves attempts to uncover knowledge about the basic relations between educational changes and their consequences. No longer encumbered by tradition, educational planners can now choose new roles to create order out of the present state of confusion. (Author/JEH)