Abstract Dual training is a subject of interest due to the current political initiatives in education to promote training programmes that bring the education system closer to both professional employment and the business fabric of a given region. Given the influence of educational and labour legislation on the scientific approach to dual education, research in this field is characterised by its heterogeneity of approaches, methodologies and terminologies used, and fragmentation across countries and regions. With the aim of mapping the existing scientific production on the object of study, this article presents a double systematic literature review of publications from 2010 to the present. This has been carried out through a dual documentary review process that enables a comparative analysis of dual training within the contexts of higher education and vocational training. The common research questions guiding the study, defined using the PICO strategy, are threefold: (1) What characterises the scientific production focused on dual higher and vocational education? (2) What methodological approaches prevail in the research on dual higher and vocational education? and (3) What strengths and limitations converge in the research on dual higher and vocational education? Following the guidelines established by the PRISMA 2020 methodology, 8 international (Web of Science, Scopus, Scielo and ERIC), national (Dialnet) and specialised (HAL CNRS, HAL SHS and Pascal Francis) databases have been consulted, and 16 different search equations have been combined with the terms Dual Vocational Education, Higher Vocational Training/Dual Vocational Training and tutor, among others. Following an exhaustive analysis of the findings, the removal of duplicates and a full‐text review, a total of 35 documents were included: 23 related to dual higher education and 12 focused on dual vocational education. The analysis, both in terms of content and semantic networks, was conducted using Maxqda 2022 software. The reviewed studies allow for a mapping of the current scientific production regarding keyword usage trends and methodological tendencies related to the subject of study, based on the analysis of objectives, methods, strengths and limitations of the selected documents. The overall corpus consists mainly of qualitative research studies, whose predominant aim is to explore the contexts and educational systems in which dual programmes are implemented, their quality and the participation experiences of the involved stakeholders, particularly focusing on the satisfaction of the triad formed by students—company tutors—academic tutors. In recent years, there has been a change in trend towards quantitative studies focused on measuring both the effectiveness of the dual model and the degree of satisfaction among these stakeholders. Context and implications Rationale for this study: Due to the heterogeneous nature of research on dual education, this study seeks to identify trends in scientific production as well as methodological tendencies within the existing research on dual education. In this way, it seeks to contribute to the consolidation of a more unified conceptual framework that enables a deeper understanding and more effective application of dual education across its different contexts. Why are the new findings important? The findings enable a scientific mapping of the development of research on dual training and, beyond identifying strengths or gaps in the existing literature, provide a global vision that can guide future education and labour policies. This contributes to bridging the gap between the practical realities in which dual education is implemented and the legislation and regulations that govern it. Implications for researchers, practitioners and policymakers: With a forward‐looking approach and based on the findings of this study, a combined analysis of the literature and existing legislation could allow for a comparison of the strengths and limitations of the various dual education models. Educational and labour policymakers may use this evidence to promote clearer regulatory strategies that support the consolidation of dual training in both higher education and vocational training. Finally, for professionals in the educational and business sectors, the emphasis placed in the literature on the relational triangle—student, company tutor, and academic tutor—can serve as a basis for improving the quality of dual training programmes.
Sierra-Martínez et al. (Tue,) studied this question.