This longitudinal comparative analysis examines the experiences of two candidates--one enrolled in an urban residency program and one enrolled in the residency's partner, university-based program--to consider the role that context plays in teacher preparation. Drawing from complexity theory and critical realism, we consider how the interplay of teacher preparation contexts amplifies or diminishes novice teachers' capacity to enact programmatic visions for teaching. Our data have implications for how we conceptualize what a teacher education program is, which programmatic visions are amplified and with what consequences, and the ways in which funding for teacher education can influence which visions are amplified.