It is argued that in order to understand the ways in which teachers experience their work--including the idiosyncratic ways in which they respond to and implement mandated education policy--it is necessary to take account both of sociological and of psychological issues. The paper draws on original research with practising and beginning teachers, and on theories of social and psychic induction, to illustrate the potential benefits of this bipartisan approach for both teachers and researchers. Recognising the significance of (but somewhat arbitrary distinction between) structure and agency in teachers' practical and ideological positions, it is suggested that teachers' responses to local and central policy changes are governed by a mix of pragmatism, social determinism and often hidden desires. It is the often under-acknowledged strength of desire that may tip teachers into accepting and implementing policies with which they are not ideologically comfortable.