Teacher identity plays a significant role in the literature of education, taking into account the characteristics that constitute the teaching profession and who a teacher is professionally. Studies on teachers' professional identities first emerged between 1988 and 2000 (Beijaard et al., 2004) and have since been recognized as a crucial factor affecting the teaching-learning process. In this regard, researchers examined teacher identity to enhance understanding of teaching practices and professional development (Arslan & Haser, 2025), and this investigation spanned various academic disciplines, including mathematics education. Lutovac and Kaasila (2018) assert that teachers' self-perception regarding mathematics instruction is referred to as identity within the realm of mathematics education, and given that mathematics is perceived as an elitist discipline, the development of a mathematics teacher identity diverges from that of teachers in other subjects. Consequently, the identity of mathematics teachers has been a focal point of research since 2000 (Darragh, 2016).

Graven and Heyd-Metzuyanim (2019) state that mathematics education identity research can be categorized into two domains: learner identities and teacher identities (pre-service, in-service, experienced, etc.). Numerous studies have been conducted on the identity of pre-service mathematics teachers (PSMTs), as the interplay between their identities as mathematics learners, practitioners, and instructors, along with the contexts they inhabit, is crucial for their development as future teachers (Ma & Singer-Gabella, 2011). Furthermore, a number of studies were carried out through teacher education programs because it is essential to the formation of PSMTs’ identities regarding the teaching of mathematics (Çelikdemir & Haser, 2024). Conversely, as previously noted, mathematics differs from other disciplines and presents unique challenges regarding teacher identity. Lutovac and Kaasila (2018) claim that research on teacher identity in mathematics is infrequently informed by studies on identity within general education. Furthermore, mathematics is a rigorous discipline necessitating robust subject matter expertise and pedagogical skills, and it is regarded as an intimidating discipline within society, potentially influencing both PSMTs’ self-perception and external perceptions of them (Mitiche, 2025). Moreover, according to Beijaard et al. (2000), pre-service teachers face an imbalance in their mathematical identities as a result of their transition from being mathematical experts who know mathematics to math teachers who teach it. Therefore, it is indeed significant to investigate PSMTs’ identity developments considering both these challenges coming from mathematics subject and seeing them as future teachers.

In the literature, there are studies related to identity of pre-service mathematics teachers (e.g Arslan & Haser, 2024; Çelikdemir & Haser, 2024; Kaufmann et al., 2024). There is also a systematic review study related to identities of PSMTs, conducted by Mitiche (2025) reviewing 20 articles from ERC, ERIC, and EBSCO databases between the years of 2010-2023 based on their methods, conceptualizations, and findings. However, in order to piece together all, see the big picture, fill in any gaps, and leave a trustworthy roadmap for future researchers, more systematic reviews are needed. Thus, as different from Mitiche (2025), this study also aims to present a current systematic review considering European and international literature related to identity of solely pre-service mathematics teachers, including 19 articles published between the years of 2012-2025, indexed in Web of Science database, in order to analyze them based on publication years, countries, methodological approaches and theoretical perspectives. In this regard, the study has three main research questions:

1.How do identity studies conducted within the framework of preservice mathematics teachers show trends according to publication years and countries?

2.What kind of methodological approaches (samples, research designs, data collection tools) are used in research on identity of pre-service mathematics teachers?

3.What theoretical perspectives and approaches do the researchers used in their studies of pre-service teachers' identities?

This systematic review examined the studies on identity of pre-service mathematics teachers. Related research was selected from Web of Science (WoS) database on December 13, 2025 by searching the keywords, *math* AND *pre-service teachers* OR *preservice teachers* OR *prospective teachers* OR *student teachers* OR *teacher candidates* OR * future teachers* AND *identity of teacher* OR * teacher identity* OR *professional identity*. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) (Page et al., 2021) was used to transparently indicate inclusion and exclusion criteria and to guarantee traceability of the systematic review process conducted. The initial 69 studies identified through keyword scanning were narrowed to 54 after applying filters based exclusively on the English language and article format, and education field. Of the remaining 54 studies, 24 were eliminated due to inappropriate sampling (e.g. experienced mathematics teachers, novice mathematics teachers, science teachers, physics teachers, theatre teachers, preschool teachers, mathematics teacher educators, and practicing mathematics teachers), 2 were systematic review studies, 3 were book chapters, and 5 were out of scope. Also, this review study included only articles accessible through the researcher's institution, and one article was excluded due to lack of access. The author conducted the extraction process, which was subsequently reviewed by an associate professor of mathematics education. Thus, a total of 19 studies published in between the years of 2012-2025, written in English and related to identities of pre-service mathematics teachers was obtained. In order to analyze the studies a review form as an Excel document was created, and content analysis was conducted based on publication years, countries, methodological approaches (samples, research designs, data collection tools) and theoretical perspectives criteria.

The findings revealed that the studies were published between 2012 and 2025; only in 2022, 2024, and 2025 were there multiple publications, with the highest number of publications occurring in 2025, while a maximum of one study was published in the remaining years in this range. While the predominant number of studies were undertaken in European countries (68.42%), related research was also conducted in North and South America (15.79%), Asia, South Africa, and Australia (5.26% each). Additionally, five—more than half—of the nine studies that were published in 2024 and 2025, the years with the most publications, were carried out in Turkey. The participants in the studies were grouped according to the different educational levels they would be teaching, and it was revealed that there were five studies each at the middle school (11-14) and high school (14-18) levels, and four studies at the primary school (5-11) level. In terms of methodological approaches, qualitative methods (57.9%) were predominant, followed by mixed methods (26.3%) and quantitative methods (15.8%). As co patible with this finding, semi-structured interviews, audio/video recordings, observations, reflective writings, and open-ended questionnaires were used as data collection tools aimed at gaining a deeper understanding. The findings also revealed that most frequently used theoretical perspectives for researching pre-service mathematics teachers’ identity were the narrative approach (Sfard & Prusak, 2005) the community of practice (Wenger, 1988) and the teacher identity model (Beijaard et al., 2000). Finally, the studies were mostly descriptive, focusing mostly on the process of identity construction in a way that tries to offer deep meaning about identity, and experimental studies are quite limited. In this sense, future studies could focus on experimental and intervention-based research designs that can reveal the effects of these interventions on the development of pre-service mathematics teachers' identity.

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