Research (for example Ball, 1988; Philippou & Christou, 1998) have linked teachers' attitudes with classroom practice in teaching mathematics. Previous studies have identified and examined the relationships between different components of teachers' attitudes (Nisbet, 1991). However, a particular criticism of these studies is the lack of content validity of the measures used. In the present study, in line with the conference theme for PME 38, we developed an innovative approach to examining the attitudes of pre-service elementary teachers. The study utilised a mixed methods approach, firstly eliciting qualitative statements from teachers, then using these statements in Likert-scale questionnaire items. We argue that this provides a more valid assessment of attitudes, and a method that can be applied across differing contexts for teachers. [For the complete proceedings, see ED597799.]