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1. Autonomy is a construct of capacity.2. Autonomy involves a willingness on the part of the learner to takeresponsibility for their own learning.3. The capacity and willingness of learners to take such responsibility is notnecessarily innate.4. Complete autonomy is an idealistic goal.5. There are degrees of autonomy.6. The degrees of autonomy are unstable and variable.7. Autonomy is not simply a matter of placing learners in situations where theyhave to be independent.8. Developing autonomy requires conscious awareness of the learningprocess – i.e. conscious reflection and decision-making.9. Promoting autonomy is not simply a matter of teaching strategies.10. Autonomy can take places both inside and outside the classroom.11. Autonomy has a social as well as an individual dimension.12. The promotion of autonomy has a political as well as psychologicaldimension.13. Autonomy is interpreted differently by different cultures.Table 1: Defining learning autonomy (Sinclair, 2000)We would agree, to qualify the above claims about consensus, that suchunderstandings are generally accepted by academics and researchers workingin the field of learner autonomy; the extent to which teachers also embracesuch positions remains, however, unknown; there is actually some evidence(albeit limited) that teachers may hold positions about learner autonomy whichare at odds with those listed above. Benson (2009), for example, notes thatmisconceptions identified by Little (1991) persist, especially that autonomy issynonymous with self-instruction and that any intervention on the part of theteacher is detrimental to autonomy (see also the conclusions of Martinez, 2008,which we discuss below).Palfreyman (2003) does acknowledge the gap that may exist between theoreticaldiscussions of learner autonomy and teachers’ own understandings of theconcept and makes the point with specific reference to the manner in whichlearner autonomy has been conceptualised from technical, psychological, andpolitical perspectives (see Benson, 1997) and, additionally, from a socio-culturalperspective (Oxford, 2003). Each of these perspectives is seen to be underpinnedby different theoretical assumptions; for example, while a technical perspectivefocuses on the physical settings of learning (often outside formal educationalsettings), a psychological orientation is concerned with the mental attributes thatpermit autonomy; and while a political (or critical) perspective focuses on issues ofpower and control, a socio-cultural perspective has a central interest in the rolesof interaction and social participation in the development of learner autonomy.Palfreyman (2003: 4) notes that ‘while it is useful to distinguish the differentperspectives mentioned above … in real educational settings such perspectives arenot black-and-white alternatives’.216 | Teacher Beliefs Autonomy