The Lead Teacher[1] reform was introduced in Sweden in 2013 to make the teacher profession more attractive and to guarantee good education for students (SFS, 2013:70). To become a LT it is required that you are a qualified and authorized teacher, that you have shown especially good ability to improve the results of the students and that you have a strong interest in developing teaching (Skolverket, 2013). Each municipality decides how many LTs should be appointed, how to recruit LTs and what their tasks should be. 50 % of a LT´s working hours, at a minimum, should consist of teaching and tasks associated with teaching (Skolverket, 2015).

The outcome of the LT reform has varied throughout the country (Skolverket, 2015). In the media, there have been many discussions about reform. It is even called the "loudly criticised reform". Since the reform is new there is almost no research done to show which factors are most important for understanding how the reform has been implemented and the part it plays in the development of the LTs profession (Kornhall, 2015).

The purpose of this study was to examine how municipalities within a region in Sweden have used the reform to develop quality in teaching from the perspective of LTs and the school principals. The research questions were as follows:

1. What tasks do LTs have?
2. What do they think LT tasks should be?
3. What are the aims of the municipalities in appointing LTs?
4. What do the municipalities think is required to make the LT reform a tool for increasing quality in education and for school improvement?

The theoretical framework of this study was built on school improvement. The comprehensive, critical parameters that are emphasized are structure, culture and leadership that are also separately described by various researchers. Teacher collaboration on school content and curriculum seems crucial in influencing the structure (Höög & Johansson 2014), but also working in teams and learning communities is emphasized (Björkman, 2008). Three internal improvement capabilities that seem to be particularly important for the school improvement process are cooperation, both external and internal, skills development and leadership (Björkman, 2008; Blossing, 2008). Successful schools usually work with teams forming a hub for development, with a distinct leader. These teams are familiar with the school's aims and objectives. The individual importance of leadership in a larger context in influencing school culture is described by several researchers (Fullan, 2010; Bredeson, 2002). The teachers' values and basic assumptions concerning the goals of LTs are especially important for this study.

[1] Henceforth referred to as LT

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