In this work, we examine a questionnaire for prospective secondary school teachers (students in their final year of Mathematics, graduates in Mathematics and graduates in other science subjects). We study the relationship between their own conceptions, beliefs and attitudes and the role the teacher set out in the ‘Ley de Ordenacion General del Sistema Educativo’ (the new law that orders the Spanish educational system) and we include a comparison of different students’ opinions. Our results show that there are no notable differences among these students. However, students’ notions of the role of the teacher contrast sharply with the role proposed in the current educational reforms.