This study was part of a larger on-going study that is examining the Pygmalion Principle for the practicum experiences of six mature-age student-teachers. The participants are former graduates with university degrees and aged from 36 to 49. They have extensive career backgrounds unrelated to classroom teaching. For this part of the larger study, the mature-age student-teachers were individually interviewed using an open-ended, semi-structured questionnaire. The interviews were approximately 90 minutes in length and were recorded and transcribed at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OSIE) at the University of Toronto. The research data collected via the open-ended interviews echoed the lived experiences of the participants and were in conformity to the method of phenomenology. The study supports the Pygmalion principle of expectations influencing behaviour as perceived by the mature age student-teachers. The findings indicate that the Pygmalion Principle provides a plausible explanation for the resistance to classroom culture, a survival approach to teaching, and the defensive behaviours exhibited by the mature-age, second-career teachers during their practicum. (Contains 1 table.)