Although work placement mentoring has been examined extensively in research, there are no studies drawing on critical discourse analysis combined with discourse theory, aiming to examine the discursive construction of quality aspects. Seven mentor pairs in Swedish teacher training schools were interviewed individually during student work placement. Focus group interviews were conducted with eleven student teachers. The results reveal a consensus on a general level. The significant discrepancies are intertwined to different subject positions among student teachers and mentors, thus linked to different role expectations. A likely explanation can be found in the differences between professional and academic knowledge traditions.