This paper considers the impact of post-graduation in Education at the University of Porto on teachers’ professional development. In the last decade, there was a recognition of post-graduation (Master and Doctorate) as qualifying for innovation in teaching practice. Consequently, post-graduation became the rule, rather than the exception, for teachers – and many of them chose to conduct their research on their own professional contexts. However, there is no follow-up data on the effectiveness and maintenance on the link between research and practice once they complete their degrees, i.e., little is known about the potential catalytic validity of this research (Lather, 1986) at personal, professional and organizational levels. Our goal is to consider these issues using email surveys and focus-groups with former and current students at the Master and PhD in Education. Preliminary results suggest that post-graduation had an important role in their own development as reflective practitioners who question their existing practices, generating change in their professional contexts, but not always led to organizational recognition or transformation. Reference Lather, P. (1986). Issues of validity in openly ideological research: Between a rock and a soft place.Interchange, 17, 4, 63-84.