The empirical material in this paper is from a multiple case study exploring the role, if any, that social practices related to teacher education and beyond teacher education play in primary student teachers’ tales of themselves as teachers-to-be. The case of Lisa is used as an example to illustrates how different past and present social practices influence how she talks about competitive teaching during different phases of her teacher education. Of particular influence is her past school-related experiences as they in turn influence how she interprets other social practices. Thus, the case of Lisa illustrates the importance of widening our research interest beyond teacher education if we want to understand the process of becoming mathematics teachers.