Michel Foucault and educational leadership: The state of the field and where to from here?

This chapter undertakes a structured scoping literature review into the use of Michel Foucault’s ideas and concepts in the areas of educational leadership and policy. There has been a substantial take up and engagement with Foucault’s ideas generally in education and certainly within that broader field, the areas of educational leadership and policy more specifically. While there has been this substantive engagement with Foucault, little is known about the extent of this engagement. This review seeks to establish a working base to understand who has been using Foucault’s work, which particular concepts or approaches have been drawn upon, where this work has been published and globally where the research is coming from. Based on the findings of this review, we consider the knowledge that is being developed within educational leadership policy, its implications and quality, and also, where future might research go from here.