The papers (from a symposium held at the Fern Universitat) included in this collection focus on distance education in theory and practice. Contributions are written in English or in German, with summaries available for each in the language not used for the paper concerned. Contributions are: (1) "Distance Education as Communication: The Impact of Research and the Requirements of Practitioners" (Borje Holmberg); (2) "Educational Theory and Its Application to Distance Education" (Borje Holmberg); (3) "The Study of Distance Education: Terminology, Definition and the Field of Study" (Desmond Keegan); (4) "Towards a Better Understanding of Distance Education: Analysing Designations and Catchwords" (Otto Peters); (5) "Distance Education as a Multi-Dimensional System of Communication and Production" (R. Manfred Delling); (6) "Distance Education and Communication Culture: Continuous Counselling and Two-Way Communication" (Gerhard E. Ortner); (7) "Distance Education in the Society of the Future" (Erling Ljosa); (8) "Communication in Distance Education: A Pre-Requisite of Democracy" (Gerhard Stroh); (9) "Independence and Interaction: Getting the Mixture Right for Institutions" (John S. Daniel); (10) "Group Studies and Course Incorporation: The Concept of a Multi-Campus Institution of Distance Education" (Nehemia Levtzion); (11) "Distance Education Research for Distance School Work: Requirements of Practitioners" (Heinrich Dieckmann and Bernd Schachtsiek); (12) "Testing Distance Education Programs: What Administration Expects from Theory" (Michael Vennemann); (13) "The Feasibility of a Predictive Theory of Distance Education: What Are We Allowed To Expect?" (Borje Holmberg); (14) "Autonomous Learning in Distance Education: Methodology and Results" (Helmut Lehner); (15) "Contract Learning: A Contribution To Promoting Autonomous Learning?" (Monika Weingartz); (16) "Drop In and Drop Out: The Need of Definition" (Helmut Fritsch); and (17) "Diagnosis and Therapy: Theoretical and Methodological Aspects of Drop-Out Research" (Rudolf Schuemer and Herhard Strohlein). Each paper contains its own bibliography. The volume includes a list of the authors and their affiliations. (DB)