This paper traces the origins of professional development schools (PDSs), describes their characteristics, examines a network of PDSs, considers the place of PDSs in developing the teaching profession, addresses problems and concerns associated with developing and sustaining PDSs, and draws implications for teacher preparation and the teaching profession in Australia. The professional development school concept was one strand of a complex tapestry of proposals presented in significant U.S. education reform reports of the mid-1980s. Six characteristics are commonly associated with PDSs: (1) collaboration between school and university faculty; (2) commitment to inquiry into new and better approaches to teaching and learning; (3) promoting development of the teaching profession; (4) restructuring traditional leadership and decision-making processes and structures in schools; (5) responsiveness to diverse learners; and (6) developing and modeling exemplary professional practices that can be adopted by other schools. Establishing a statewide network of professional development schools has been a major objective of the Michigan Partnership for a New Education; however, this paper identifies several obstacles that are likely to impede the program's progress towards its ultimate goals. Brief descriptions of three PDS-related resource centers are provided. Three major problems and concerns are identified: (1) the cost, in time and money; (2) the insufficient number of PDSs; and (3) the status of PDSs as an alternate, rather than mainstream, route to becoming a teacher. The conclusion is reached that the PDS is a promising approach to restructuring and improving both schools and faculties of education in Australia. (Contains 21 references.) (IAH)