”Det här är ju en lärarutbildning… inte en lära-sig-matematik-utbildning” – En jämförelse av hur lärarstudenter för grundskolans tidigare år och ämneslärare positionerar sig i diskursiva praktiker

In this chapter, I analyse interviews with preservice teachers in two programmes; an integrated programme for future secondary teachers and a postgraduate secondary teacher education programme. I then compare these with the results from a previous study on preservice primary teachers. The focus is on power relations and students’ discursive positioning in mathematics teacher education. The results show that the secondary preservice teachers express feeling empowered in their work in mathematics both as a discipline and as a teaching subject in school. They also express feeling empowered in relation to institutional frames. Although the preservice teachers find it challenging to meet learners’ varying needs, the challenge elicits their creativity; however, they pay less attention to the consideration of linguistic and cultural differences. When comparing the two student groups, major differences in the students’ positioning become apparent. This highlights the different needs that the teacher groups may have when they begin their professional careers—aspects that may be interesting for both practising teachers and teacher educators, but also for continued research within mathematics teacher education.