This piece of work is located within the context of the education system of the United Kingdom; arguably, a system that has moved from a child centred, constructivist model, to one resting on consumerist, compliance led principles. The paper resides in the work of two universities in the North-West of England, both of which are involved in the initial and post graduate professional training of teachers. It aims, firstly, to examine the belief systems held by tutors engaged in this part of Higher Education, which might be characterised as their teaching ideologies, and secondly, to raise questions around these core beliefs, and how they are manifested at the pedagogical interface. The focus of the research rests on a perceived lack of congruence between the espoused ideologies of tutors, and the general classroom practice within the universities under study. The degree to which this may have an impact on the concepts of teaching transmitted to course participants will be examined, alongside a consideration of the internal struggle that tutors experience in reconciling the dichotomy between individual ideology and statist compliance.As this research is aiming to elucidate 'personal epistemologies' (Hammer & Elby 2002, Hofer & Pintrich 2002) tutor beliefs about knowledge and knowing will be gleaned by adopting a psychological approach to the research. The use of metaphors (Weiner 1992) will be employed to examine ideological beliefs, which will then be analysed with respect to espoused teaching practices. Material obtained from this analysis will be examined for areas of congruence and dissonance, in order to determine how far espoused beliefs around teaching and learning complement, or contradict, ideology as practiced. By comparing, and contrasting, espoused and practiced ideologies, it is anticipated that a number of recommendations and suggestions can be made regarding the implicit and explicit messages that are given to teachers embarking on initial, or continuing, professional training and education. In addition, it is anticipated that this study will examine the corporate and personal aims of stakeholders involved in initial and continuing teacher education in the U.K. Finally, it will be suggested that educational practitioners engaged in teaching in these institutions are faced with a dilemma; that of ameliorating their lived ideology to deliver a teaching and learning model more in tune with the compliance led nature of the educational system, or to allow participants to address this issue for themselves. It will be suggested that a 'paternalist' decision may be taken at undergraduate level, in that tutors assume this burden for themselves, but that at post-graduate level tutors actively embrace their ideology, leaving their students to wrestle with the problem of pursuing their own ideology, even where this conflicts with career compliance needs.Ashwin, P (ed) (2006) Changing Higher Education: The development of learning and teaching London: Routledge Hammer, D & Elby, A (2002) On the form of a personal epistemology. In: B.K. Hofer & P.R. Pintrich (eds) Personal Epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Hofer, B.K. & Pintrich, P.R. (2002) (Eds) Personal Epistemology: The psychology of beliefs about knowledge and knowing. London: Lawrence Erlbaum Prosser, M & Trigwell, K. (1999) Understanding Learning and Teaching: The experience in Higher Education Buckingham: O.U.Press Weiner, B (1992) Human Motivation: Metaphors, theories and research. London: SageHigher Eduction