634 Education for the knowledge society Action Research as a Form of Teacher Professional Development Prof Asoc. Eda VULA 1 Abstract This paper is about the perception of student teachers concerning their role as researchers and the impact of action research in their professional development. This paper is a product of joint collaboration with master-level student teachers of the Faculty of Education of the University of Prishtina. Qualitative data collected through refective writings, open-ended questionnaires and various research project reports implemented by student teachers themselves were analyzed using inductive methods. Findings support the fact that action research is a major component in teacher professional development. According to teacher-researchers, action research has a major impact not only on the improvement of teaching practices and better student achievements, but also on increasing the collaboration among peer teachers and fostering a new culture where teachers assume their responsibilities to implement action research in their own classrooms. Key terms: Action research, professional development, student teacher, critical friends Introduction Kosova’s education system underwent several reforms in order to be in line with social, cultural and political developments. Along ongoing changes in education policies, special attention was paid to development of education programs for quality teachers in line with common European principles for teachers’ competencies and their qualifcations 2 . In this context, Faculty of Education of the University of Prishtina developed, for the frst time in 2010, two master-level programs focused on developing educational experts in curriculum and leadership 3 . One of the main program components is action research based on student-teachers’ professional practice 4 . Preparing researchers in the feld of education, as one of the objectives of these two programs, and use of research for teaching 1. Eda Vula, University of Prishtina, Faculty of Education, eda.vula@uni-pr.edu; edavula@yahoo.com 2. Commission of the European Communities. 2005. The Common European principles for teacher competences and quali fcations. Geneva: Commission of the European Communities (4) 3. Programet Master në Fakultetin e Edukimit ”Mësimdhënia dhe Kurrikula”, Udhëheqja në Arsim” (2010). Universiteti i Prishtinës 4. Student teachers are master level students, who are also in-service teachers at the same time.