With funding from the National Science Foundation's Noyce Program, Research Track 4, this partnership between the University of Arizona Main Campus, University of Arizona South Campus, Northern Arizona University, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and the University of New Hampshire will examine teacher efficacy and persistence. Noyce programs seek to prepare effective teachers who can provide equitable instruction to diverse populations in high-need districts. The efficacy part of the study will examine the development of equity-related beliefs, knowledge, and practices of prospective mathematics teachers in five Noyce programs. The teacher persistence part of the study will characterize study participants' developing senses of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, which are predictors of persistence. This research study will include the participation of approximately 100 prospective teachers from institutions that have recently received Noyce Track 1 awards. Half of the study participants will be Noyce program participants. Non-Noyce pre-service teachers in the same programs will serve as the comparison group. The project will compare findings for Noyce and non-Noyce prospective mathematics teachers. This development will be examined as it relates to experiences in teacher preparation and induction programs. This project intends to use an exploratory mixed-methods research design. The investigators propose to explore the following research questions: How do courses and fieldwork impact the development of knowledge and beliefs about equity? How are knowledge and beliefs about equity expressed in teacher practice? Which Noyce program elements are associated with the development of one or more aspects of equitable practice? To answer these questions, data will be collected over four years from project participants across the partnering institutions. Data sources will include surveys, interviews, work samples, and video of classroom instruction. Analysis will be framed by theories of culturally responsive teaching (Gay, 2000; 2002), equity literacy (Gorski, 2014), and Self Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Project outcomes will include important knowledge about the development of equity-related knowledge, beliefs, and practices in mathematics teachers. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.