All the contributions for these two consecutive symposiums are based on papers submitted for a special issue of the EERJ which is centered around the question: “What are the Contested Qualities in Teacher Education Research which are Relevant for Education Today?” Research on teacher education is a relatively new field according to the report of the AERA panel on research and teacher education (Cochran-Smith and Zeichner, 2005). The research on teacher education presented in these two symposiums will deal with issues concerning professional development. Professional development could in some ways be said to deal with the self-understanding of teacher education – what is it that we do in teacher education and how does this contribute to the quality and professional development of teachers. Educating teachers necessarily raises questions about: what sort of education: why this or that type of educational program; and, eventually, who is this education meant for and who are the teacher educators. The attempt of this symposium is to generate discussion and analysis based on research from different national contexts as to our conceptions of professional development in teacher education, to what it could become and what research in this field should aim for. In the second section of the symposiums we first have two contributions addressing professional development more specifically concerning what or how it may be examined in teacher education. Elster will report on a three year longitudinal study of teacher development in learning communities of science teachers (Biology) in Germany. Through this study some of the complexity of professional development is displayed, thereby raising questions as to what sort of professional development is necessary in teacher education. Another maybe more radical approach to professional development is proposed by Ewing and Hughes in Australia. They argue that using arts informed inquiry as a research methodology in research on teacher education is a way of gaining knowledge about the complexity of professional development in teacher education not so easily gained through other research methods. This also make a link back to the opening presentation – and the question concerning teacher professional learning and students outcomes is again raised. In the final contribution of these two linked symposiums a UK based group of researches on teacher education (Murray et.al) will present some of their work which is an initiative for research capacity building in teacher education. Their analysis identifies and examines some of the implications for professional development, and also identifies some of the perceived gaps in the literature on professional development. This in some ways challenges everyone in this discussion to make propositions as to where research on professional development in teaccher education should "go".

In the contributions presented in this symposium a range of methodological perspectives and research methods are used. This is demonstrated in the short outline from each of the contributors.

The main idea of this symposum is to set up a forum for a discussion on professional development in teacher education, drawing on different national research studies. The outcome of this discussion is not possible to foresee. One hope is that this can contribute to a better understanding of the complexities of this field within teacher education and that it may generate more research and collaboration across national borders.