The paper addresses the issue of professional development through discussion of research of a long-term in-service course for primary school teachers of art. The research had three main foci: a) the process and ways of learning about art; b) the role of teachers' background experiences, knowledge and expertise in such a learning process; and c) their implementation of new curriculum practices. Evidence is drawn from observations, interviews and the teachers' own action research of their learning and teaching. The research examined the teachers' professional development from the following perspectives: i) the teachers as students in the course, bringing in dispositions and personal experience and being introduced to new subject-knowledge; ii) the relationship between the latter and classroom practice; and iii) the work of the teachers as researchers where the process of professional self-development through reflective practice, inquiry and critique was central to the course.