7.2.4 Conflicting Beliefs

In some cases, teachers’ beliefs may be conducive to effective use of OLEs and yet there may still be barriers to use of OLEs. These barriers take the form of conflict. Conflict, inconsistencies or, what Nespor (1997) terms as "non-consensuality", are not uncommon features of belief systems. These features can be explained by the fact that while knowledge systems are open to evaluation, beliefs are not (Ibid.). One of the conclusions of this study is that, in some, if not many cases, teachers’ beliefs about use of OLEs for the teaching of FSFL conflict with other beliefs. Four forms of conflict were noted in this study:

1. Conflict with one’s own system of beliefs; (e.g. the teacher believes in the value of OLEs in the teaching of FSFL but also feels that she does not have the time to use them because she also believes in the importance of accountability and of being an efficient manager who covers the curriculum);
2. Conflict with institutional and systemic conventions; (e.g. a teacher wants to use a more project-based approach but constraints related to scheduling means she does not have the time to take this approach);
3. Conflict with beliefs of colleagues; (e.g. a teacher is moving towards a constructivist epistemology but colleagues believe in knowledge transmission);
4. Conflict with beliefs of students; (e.g a teacher wants to be a facilitator but students prefer teacher-directed instruction).

Some beliefs profiled in this study suggest that, although the teacher felt the need to change and to evolve her practices, the beliefs of the teacher’s own belief system, of students, of teachers or of systemic conventions, practices and norms were not consistent with this change. It is not clear what may result from such conflicts beyond what Taylor (1990) terms as "cognitive perturbation" (p.25). For example, what happens when systemic conventions and the beliefs of others reinforce and provide support for beliefs that emphasize knowledge transmission while the individual teacher’s beliefs may be moving towards an approach that emphasizes knowledge construction? Does the individual abandon the new beliefs? Does she compromise? Are the teacher’s beliefs weakened as a result? What happens as a result of the conflict may depend on whether the systemic conventions and the beliefs of others are perceived as immutable external constraints, on how resilient the teacher’s beliefs are, or on the centrality of the belief in terms of the individual’s own belief system.

Whether the conflict is resolved so that the teacher’s new beliefs translate into a transformation in practices may well depend on if there is a reconciliation between the different beliefs. Reconciliation may be achieved through a process of negotiation which, according to Taylor (1990), occurs at a number of levels through a process that is both private and public: "At the classroom level there is the individual teacher’s self-negotiation, or reflection on, her personal beliefs and practices" (p.26). The teacher’s reconstruction of beliefs can be helped by a process of self-negotiation but, as well, social negotiation. Inconsistencies between an individual’s beliefs and those of colleagues or of students may be resolved or reconciled through a process of social negotiation whereby explicit public articulation, discussion and examination assist in the process of consensus building and of reconciliation. Finally, the negotiation process must also occur at a more public level. Teachers’ participation in the development of school-based as well as district-wide policies, in school-improvement initiatives, and in the formulation of policies and decisions that affect the larger school community will provide opportunities for reconciliation, consensus building and, hopefully, for the implementation of new and transformed practices.

The findings of this study point to the need for a better understanding of the issue of conflicting beliefs. Which types of are more likely to conflict? Which situations give rise to such conflict and what processes might provide the most effective means of reconciling beliefs? Are there certain beliefs that can be more easily reconciled than others? Which beliefs are more likely to conflict with other beliefs? In terms of students’ beliefs, which ones are more likely to conflict with those of teachers? Is it those which relate to roles? These are just some of the questions that can be explored in relation to this aspect of beliefs.