Distance education is practised in all parts of the world and in recent years, its scope has developed enormously and rapidly. It has become an intrinsic part of many national educational systems and an academic discipline in its own right. Research into the area has produced a body of theory which is now being used to improve its practice. This new edition of Theory and Practice of Distance Education has been thoroughly updated both by describing how practice has changed, and by examining recent research in the field. Like the first edition, this book provides a comprehensive survey of distance education, looking at it globally and discussing the different lines of thought and models used. It describes the place of distance education in educational thinking, its various theories, principles, and techniques of presentation, its organization and its administration.