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Strengthening Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students' capabilities to implement challenging mathematical tasks is a focus for policy and curriculum internationally. In this article, we report on motivational aspects of ITE students' engagement with challenging mathematical tasks as an outcome of an explorative study involving 41 Australian ITE students in their third year of a four-year program. Data collection instruments consisted of pre- and post-surveys and a focus group interview. The study was interpretive, utilizing both quantitative and qualitative techniques. Findings suggest ITE student motivation was most closely associated with situational interest and challenge served to both motivate and demotivate students. • Initial teacher education students need opportunities to engage with challenging mathematical tasks. • Motivational aspects of challenging mathematical tasks are an important consideration for task designers. • Primary initial teacher education students hold high expectations of success when engaging with challenging tasks. • Primary initial teacher education student motivation is closely associated with situational interest in the problem context. • Task challenge may serve to both motivate and demotivate students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]