The international OECD report Teachers Matter (2005) claims that “teacher quality” is the most important variable when it comes to pupils’ learning. Many countries are worried by the lacking connection between teacher education, teachers’ professional development and school development. Norway has been concerned with teachers’ professional development and schools as learning communities through political documents the last few years.  Parliamentary Proposition 11, (2008-2009) (MER, 2009) with focus on professionalism is one example. A concrete suggestion from the proposition is that newly qualified teacher in Norway should have the right to have a mentor in school.

As teacher educators we have initiated and started a mentor course for teachers. The course is run for one year with eight full meeting-days. The participators are given theoretical lectures, but are also challenged to reflect on their own experiences as mentors through mutual supervision. The 24 participators are supposed to write an e-portfolio for their final exam based on case-studies from their own school. An important element is feedback from other mentors and teacher educators; face to face as well as online. Since the teachers are supposed to be mentors in their own school the course is supposed to contribute to their own as well as other teachers’ professional development and school development. Consequently, knowledge and understanding of what professional development actually means for teachers and school leaders in the participating schools is an important concern.

Mentors’ professional development might be differently perceived depending on the underpinning perspective on learning. From a cognitive perspective mentorship is an individual concern between mentor and mentee. The mentor is supposed to support and help the novice teacher to become part of the existing school culture. In a socio-cultural perspective on learning, on the other hand, mentors as well as novices are learners. Teaching as a profession is, by its nature, an ongoing learning process. Accordingly, schools and teacher education institutions should be regarded as communities of learners. A distinction can be made between a community of practice and a community oflearners (Helleve, 2009). In a community of practice, the novice teacher should be understood as a peripheral participator (Lave & Wenger 1991; Wenger 1998, 2000). A community of learners is centred on the activity of learning. From this perspective, a school is a learning community. The main aim is continuing learning (Brown 1994; Brown & Campignone 1994; Darling 2001; Helleve & Krumsvik 2009; Matusov 2001; Sumison & Paterson 2004; Wubbels 2007). In industry, business and commerce, mentoring is viewed as a key component in management development (Jones, 2006). 

The aim of the study is to focus on what the teachers understand by the concept teachers’ professional development and their own contribution to schools as learning communities before they start and after they have finished their mentor education. We also want to focus on the principals at the schools where the teachers work and ask them about their perception of the term and how they consider the connection between teachers’ professional development and schools as learning communities.

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