The article discusses what professional personal development means, with respect to teacher students and professionally active teachers. To begin with, the discussion on teacher socialization is placed in a larger societal context, where changed conditions for the teacher profession are taken note of. Furthermore, in order to position the concept and interpret its meaning, the concepts “learning” and “reflection” are questioned. In conclusion, it is suggested that the conceptual pair “creativity/ relationship” can constitute a fruitful complement to dominating discourses about the teacher profession.