Recent Research on Distance Education in Norway.

Overview & Synopsis

This review focuses on distance education research in Norway, although studies in Finland, Denmark, and Sweden are briefly mentioned. Examples are given of distance education projects from the 1970s to the present. Research in distance education has a more continuous tradition in Norway than in the other Scandinavian countries, and evaluation studies seem to be a significant part of research activities in Nordic countries. The field of distance education has traditionally had a weak position in Norwegian university-based research; much of the literature comes from evaluations of government projects, under the agreed governmental policy of support for distance education. Research efforts have included theoretical analyses, survey research, experimental research, explorations of new technology, and evaluation research. Many of the 102 references are materials written in Norwegian. (SLD)