The article examines teachers' professional values and beliefs in training at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” in Bulgaria. It seeks to explore the differences and similarities between students in initial teacher education with mandatory teaching certification (ITE) and students in initial teacher training with optional teaching certification (ITT). The study employed a survey with open-ended and close-ended questions to obtain the data from two cohorts of student teachers (ITE N=79; ITT N=44). The results indicate strong similarities in professional values and motivation to enter the professional field. However, the quality analyses of beliefs on the advantages and disadvantages of teaching as a profession show notable differences. The chi-square test analysis indicates several aspects with statistical significance differences. The cohort of students in initial teacher education registers higher levels of “profitability” as a belief in the advantages of the teaching profession (p= 0.00118). The cohort of students in initial teacher training focused more on “inner satisfaction” (p=0.0004) as a main advantage. The latter group mentions more often “difficulties while working with students” (p=0.02) as a disadvantage of the profession. On the other hand, the students in initial teacher education identified “difficulties in communication with parents” and “conservative teaching traditions” as disadvantages, which are not even mentioned in the other cohort. Using a mixed analysis approach, this paper offers an in-depth comparison of professional values and beliefs between students in initial teacher training and those in initial teacher education.

Keywords: Teacher training, professional values, profession choice.