Distance Education and Career and Technical Education: A Review of the Research Literature

Distance education, due to recent technological innovations, can provide almost the same instructional contact and interaction for the student as traditional settings. The growth of distance learning opportunities has allowed students to access courses and degree programs at their convenience. Educational institutions are creating new approaches to course delivery and degree requirements and to improving their programs with new technological tools. These issues have begun to affect career and technical education (CTE) programs, primarily at the postsecondary level.

Research studies on distance education have been criticized on a variety of fronts. Research on distance education in CTE is in its beginning stages. To date, there has been no collective analysis of this distance education research in CTE. This research synthesis reviews previous studies on distance education in CTE, organizing them into topical categories. This synthesis highlights the important aspects of these studies and provides recommendations for further research.