This paper reports a study of three beginning secondary mathematics teachers and how
their reflective practice developed during a one-year university teacher education
program and concurrent professional fieldwork experience or practicum. The participants
were interviewed three times during the practicum and once more in their first year of
teaching, to investigate the nature and depth of their self-reflections about the practicum
and their relationship with their supervising teachers. A three-stage, hierarchical model
of reflective practice (Lee, 2005) was used to interpret the interview responses. Results
show some improvement in the participants’ ability to reflect on their teaching during
the practicum, while also highlighting the importance of the practicum school context
in their professional formation and professional development. The beginning teachers
developed a greater capacity for reflection in their first year of teaching, but even then
their responses were generally descriptive in nature rather than demonstrating critical
reflection. We suggest some reasons for this.