School development is continually required to meet the emergent new demands on students’ competencies and learning due to our rapidly changing societies. Continuing professional development, CPD, may be required for teachers to create student learning environments which are appropriate to the new demands. CPD for teachers is executed in a huge variety of formats and settings. Research shows, however, that CPD efforts on a general level are not as effective as is desired. Practice theory suggests that theoretical knowledge has its origin in practical knowledge, in doing. In relation to CPD this means that information in itself does not change the teacher’s professional behavior, i.e. the teacher’s practice. The teacher may be look upon as a continuous learner, specifically considering the new demands on students’ skills and competencies. Thus, legitimate peripheral participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991) may also contribute to a better understanding of how to make CPD more effective. In light of new findings from the field of education research, the teachers may benefit from getting opportunities to observe, to be observed and to reflect on alternative teaching practices in a collaborative and systematic approach. Timperley (2011) presents one example of an evidence-based model for teachers to work collaboratively, in professional learning communities within their own school, for effective CPD based on the students’ needs. Furthermore, practice theory suggests that education research results which are achieved with an active participation of teachers may have more noticeable influence on the practice and student learning environments in the classroom in contradiction to results from research on teachers. Since most teachers do not have a higher academic education in research processes, school development and CPD may greatly benefit from support from researchers as critical friends and mentors. The municipality of Kungsbacka, on the west coast of Sweden, has chosen to make a ground-breaking and politically supported investment by financing teachers’ research studies for a licentiate or doctoral degree, while still being part of the teacher community at the school. They represent true ‘teacher-as-researchers’. The PhD students contribute in the schools’ CPD processes as well as other school development projects by providing knowledge of research processes. The finished doctors get positions as senior lecturers within the municipality; they continue teaching while also working with evidence-based school development as well as formal research. This combination of assignments within the senior lecturer position is, for the moment, unique in Sweden, however may be an inspiration to other municipalities as well as other countries.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the municipality’s initiative to provide opportunities for teachers to become researchers and to consecutively get positions as teacher researchers.

The investigation aims at finding out:

• How the innovative positions actually get shaped in the practice
• What the effects of the initiative are on school development and CPD

Additionally, the purpose of the study is to illustrate how a ‘teacher-as-researcher’ initiative may be shaped and thereby provide inspiration to other politicians, municipalities, school leaders and teachers.

The research questions are:

1. How does the doctoral students’ and the senior lecturer’s practice get shaped in practice, apart from the teaching assignment?
2. What are the effects from the doctoral students’ and the senior lecturer’s practice on school development and CPD?

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