This study examines newly qualified teachers' (NQTs) understandings of research-based teacher education practices by looking at two cases in Finland and Norway. The NQTs were interviewed after they had finished their master's degrees and before they started their careers. The results of the individual semistructured interviews and a thematic analysis revealed a weak connection between research-based knowledge gained from initial teacher education (ITE) and the teachers' professional work. The Finnish NQTs were highly research oriented, while the Norwegian NQTs focused on teachers' development of their daily work. The results are discussed in relation to the theory of practice architectures, as well as how cultural-discursive, material-economic and social-political arrangements enable and constrain different kinds of research-based ITE practices in both countries.