This paper is part of a larger study focusing on the perceptions of five different stakeholder groups about the role of a specialist teacher in the teaching of Mathematics in grades 6-9. Using a research questionnaire, the perceptions of 21 pre-service Mathematics teachers (13 Canadian and 8 South African) regarding whether they would consider becoming a Mathematics specialist teacher and what they considered to be the benefits and shortcomings of Mathematics specialist teachers, were obtained. It is on these perceptions (both the positive and negative ends of the spectrum relating to the use of Mathematics specialist teachers in grades 6-9) that the paper reports. The data indicate how our pre-service teachers think about their future careers as teachers and how they, even as students, take into consideration particular aspects that may benefit or hinder their teaching.

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