This editorial introduces the July 2004 issue of "Teacher Development". When Sue Brindley, the principal editor of "Teacher Development", invited the General Teaching Council for England to participate in guest-editing a special issue of the journal on the theme of teachers' engagement in and with research, the GTC was delighted. In law, the GTC has a statutory role to advise government and to contribute to guaranteeing high standards of teaching-- but the journal's experience of listening to and working with teachers in a wide variety of contexts over the last four years suggests that the only possible way this could be authentically enacted was through opening up a more hopeful vision of, and for, an empowered profession in the service of young people. What's different about the accounts in this journal issue is that these are professional testimonies written by teachers for a peer-reviewed academic journal. This is not to say that research outcomes are valuable only if they are committed to paper in a formal way-- teachers' "grapevines" and professional networks are pretty powerful communication media-- but a wonderful advantage of journal publication is being able to reach a variety of national and international audiences.