4.9 Conclusion

Shulman (1986) reminds us that, in terms of the classroom, there is no "real world". The worlds experienced by teachers may each be different. However, they have in common that they are all complex worlds. What the teacher believes about these worlds is no doubt equally complex and, added to that, it is often hidden, not conscious but tacit. The only way to effectively ‘observe’ these multiple, complex and hidden worlds was, therefore, to become a part of them. Thus, the researcher joined in a discussion with participants in order to improve the vantage point from which to ‘observe’ these worlds.

Senge (1995) reminds us that "we do not describe the world we see; we see the world we can describe". However, perhaps too, our efforts in describing these worlds, in bringing to the surface our beliefs, leads us to see this world differently and more clearly. In this sense, the research has served more than one purpose. The teacher was given the opportunity to see how others view their world and to think about how they see their own world. The participants may well now have a greater ability to describe their world and therefore to see it.

In the chapters that preceded this one, a conceptual and historical framework was presented. The review of the literature presented relevant studies of beliefs. This present chapter has explained the approach which was taken to collect the data. This chapter has also shown how the information presented in Chapter 2 and 3 were incorporated into the analysis and interpretation of the data. In the chapters that follow, the results of the study are presented and interpreted.