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able to choose the main topic, the main structure I chose that but then they hadthe freedom to choose within that something that interests them and so there’ssome structured autonomy there. And with the Moodle [an on-line learningenvironment] it’s a lot heavier than the Level 2 so there’s a lot of extra stuff thatif they feel they want more practice with lectures or something else then theycan get that. So there are a lot of services there.This example, like that before it, describes student autonomy which occurs withina structured environment – ‘structured autonomy’, as the teacher calls it. In thiscase, students had some say in the specific issues they write essays about eventhough the general theme is chosen by the teacher. Here, too, the teacher refersto opportunities for independent learning that their learners have via Moodle, andan association is implied between these opportunities and learner autonomy. It isimportant to remember, though, that opportunities for independent learning neitherguarantee the development of nor constitute evidence of learner autonomy.As noted above, though, almost 42per cent of the teachers did not feel theirlearners had a fair degree of autonomy. Here are examples of how they explainedtheir view:I teach second and third year students who are already in college but their levelof autonomy is really low. They don’t like to do things on their own. They ‘expect’to cover everything in class and most of them indeed struggle with tasks to becarried out in small groups, let alone homework assignments … assigned by theteacher to be carried out by individual students! It’s the learning culture thestudents here are used to.Most of students come to us without having sufficient background inindependent learning. That’s why we have to start with the very basic ideas ofthis notion.Most of the students wait to be spoon fed by the teacher. About 50 per cent ofthem don’t have the incentive to develop.SQU students still expect to ‘absorb’ a lot of language from their teacher and theirteacher’s instruction. The majority do not seem to initiate new ways of improvingtheir language skills, and most are not that motivated to really strive to engagewith this language in meaningful ways. Most see it as an unfortunate requirementrather than an opportunity which will be an asset throughout their lives.The learning outcomes which must be covered and the length of the block,especially when there are holidays and piloted tests, etc, which take time awayfrom learning do not leave time to mentor students’ learning to be autonomous.These comments highlight factors which teachers felt contributed to what theysaw as a lack of autonomy in their learners: a lack of motivation, expectations ofthe roles of teachers and learners that were incongruent with learner autonomy,and prior educational experience which did not foster independence. Thefinal comment also cited curricular constraints which meant time for fosteringautonomy in learners was limited.Teacher Beliefs Autonomy | 233