This article explores effective mathematics teaching as constructed in Finnish and Swedish teacher educators' discourses. Based on interview data from teacher educators as well as data from feedback discussions between teacher educators and prospective teachers in Sweden and Finland, the analysis shows that several aspects of the recent international reform movements are visible in the discourses in both countries. However, the Swedish teacher educators tend to conceptualize effective teaching as interactions with individual children, building on students' ideas and emanating mathematics from everyday situations, while the Finnish teacher educators stress the importance of a clear presentation of mathematics, routines and homework as well as specific goals for every lesson. The results of this cross-cultural study cannot be generalized to the two countries but rather show interesting conceptualizations of effective teaching, adding to international theory building.