This article reports the findings of a six-year project to involve pupils systematically in the pre-service education of secondary school teachers. The project, developed in the partnership between an English university and local schools, involves structured discussions between school pupils and student teachers during the practical teaching phase of a one-year postgraduate teacher preparation course. Student teachers report an increased understanding of pupils' perspectives and benefits to their professional learning. Conclusions are drawn about the value of such projects in developing student teachers' understanding of teaching and learning processes, and of the effectiveness of different classroom interactions. The implications of this research for defining the concept of teacher professionalism are also discussed. (Contains 1 table.)