This paper reports on an international comparison of seventh graders’ conceptions of mathematics teaching. A questionnaire survey was made of the conceptions of a total of 200 pupils in Hungary and Finland. The main results were, as follows: The Finnish pupils were more in favour of calculation‐centred working, where the teacher is always in control of the learning process than their Hungarian counterparts. The Hungarian, in contrast to the Finns, placed greater emphasis on exact teaching methods which strive for understanding according to pupils’ capabilities, they also stressed computational aspects of mathematics, such as rapid performance, correct answers, the memorization of rules and a belief in the existence of proper procedures.