The space between pre-service primary teachers’ first year status and their goals

Students’ mathematics teacher identity is formed in various settings. A study with 45 pre-service students in their first year of education was conducted as part of alongitudinal study of year 4-6 mathematics teachers’ identity formation, to study the development during their education in terms of mathematical knowledge, pupils’ learning and the teacher role. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data. The result shows that many students were reluctant to use mathematics and had conceptions that may mislead pupils. The students’ learning focus was less on pupils’ learning than mathematics and teacher role, but theirideal teacher focused on pupils’ learning.