Epilogue

Abstract

The Epilogue's role is to connect the strands of a narrative and perhaps hint at future developments, and this is exactly what the research team has asked me to do. The book is, in many ways, an account of two parallel journeys. First is the change voyage for Education in Bendigo, which is given direction by the Bendigo Education Plan (BEP). Second is the intellectual journey taken by the research team, as they brought to bear their different research lenses on the evolution of the BEP, in their research programme. There are therefore at least two interlinked processes to bring together, and a strong sense that what we have read in this book might only be the beginning. The story of the BEP is a fascinating account of a radical approach to systemic educational change in one city. It was recognised from the outset that the Bendigo Education Plan would be premised on a disruption to the existing schooling system, new schools would be built, learning communities established and there would be a focus on individual learners. The accounts offered in this book are therefore not merely of an intervention with a simple focus on pre- And post-testing. In addition, they chart the implementation and implications of intertwined change at every level: Pedagogic spaces; school leadership; teacher education from pre-service to in-service; curriculum; assessment; and above all how children and young people are seen as learners.