Improving the learning experiences of student teachers in a school-university partnership has always been an agenda for those involved in initial teacher preparation (ITP) programmes. In the pursuit of this improvement, this paper presents an argument in favour of a cultural approach to understand learning at school placements and university in a school-university partnership. Drawing on data from a completed qualitative field study of a group of student teachers enrolled in a one-year teacher training programme, a learning culture approach is used to illustrate that learning through participating in the practices within the learning sites in a school-university partnership is central to becoming a teacher. Accepting this premise, the article attempts to discuss the implications of using a cultural approach for understanding the learning process involved in a school-university partnership. The article also addresses the issue of ways in which we could advance our thinking in improving valuable learning experiences of student teachers through using a cultural approach.