ABSTRACT
Exploring what teachers think, know and believe has been the focus of many educational research endeavours with the development of cognitivism since the 1970s. In the last 20 years, substantial evidence has indicated that teachers' beliefs are complex, dynamic, context-sensitive and systematic. In this research context, this chapter aims to approach the relationship between teachers' beliefs, practice and contexts through complexity theory that directly addresses the complex, dynamic, systematic and contextualised features. Complexity theory, originated in different disciplines, including biology, physics and mathematics, in the mid-twentieth century, breaks with the simple cause-and-effect research paradigm by adopting organic, non-linear and holistic approaches of research. In relation to complexity theory, the practice of 'token adoption' exemplifies the non-linear feature of the development of the teachers' belief system at the time of change. When examining the relationship between the teachers' beliefs and practice, the practice of 'token adoption' emerged which represents a dynamic feature of the teachers' complex belief system.
