Exploring Instructional Leadership as Foucault's Discourse and Power

Victor J. Pitsoe and Mmalefikane Sylvia Sepeng
Additional contact information
Victor J. Pitsoe: Department of Leadership and Management, College of Education, University of South Africa
Mmalefikane Sylvia Sepeng: University of South Africa

Annals of the University of Craiova for Journalism, Communication and Management, 2025, vol. 11, issue 1, 59-67

Abstract: This study explores the application of Michel Foucault's theories of discourse and power to instructional leadership in educational settings, particularly in culturally nuanced contexts such as Asia and Africa. It highlights the complexity and potential limitations of using discourse as a technique in regions where traditional values like African philosophical and ethical traditions and Confucianism play a significant role. The intertwining of political power and personal virtue in these settings can complicate the application of Foucault's ideas, potentially overburdening the mechanisms of discourse and subjectivity. However, these challenges also offer opportunities for deeper inquiry. By examining how global discourses of instructional leadership materialized in specific African and Asian contexts, researchers can gain insights into the reconceptualization of agency and provide a voice beyond binary perspectives of liberatory or totalitarian frameworks. The study underscores the dynamic nature of educational research and the importance of avoiding the commodification of Foucault's ideas, encouraging a more nuanced and contextually aware understanding of instructional leadership.

Keywords: Instructional leadership; Foucault's discourse; Power dynamics; Educational reform; Cultural context (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://aucjc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/aucjcm-11-59-67.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:edt:aucjcm:v:11:y:2025:i:1:p:59-67

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15851145

Access Statistics for this article

Annals of the University of Craiova for Journalism, Communication and Management is currently edited by Dan Valeriu Voinea

More articles in Annals of the University of Craiova for Journalism, Communication and Management from Department of Communication, Journalism and Education Sciences, University of Craiova
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Dan Valeriu Voinea ().