This study detected patterns in teacher educators' and pre-service teachers' beliefs and practices regarding the degree project. Requirements in policy documents were also considered. The analysis centred on validity, teacher cognition and grounded theory. Conversations were conducted with instructors and students at three departments for teacher education in Sweden. Findings showed inadequacies with regard to construct- and consequential validity for instruction and learning, timing, pre-service teachers' prior knowledge and attitudes to educational research. Recommendations for improvement involved having teaching practice and the project run parallel and part-time during a term. Further proposals tallied with national regulations about autonomy and academic literacy for teachers. For example, the pre-service teachers responded positively to introducing crash courses and providing opportunities for supervision prior to the course. Improved validity was deemed imperative for developing long-term literacy and motivation towards incorporating science and empirical data in the teaching profession.