Foucault’s Governmentality and Educational Leadership Discourses

Abstract

Literature presents evidence of the exponential rise of distributed leadership both as a focus of research and as leadership development in education in the twenty-first century (Hairon S, Goh JWP, Educ Manage Adm Leadersh 43:693–718, 2015; Hall D, Educ Rev 65:467–487, 2013), in addition to the growing criticism of the theory’s dominance and its “acquired taken-for-granted status” (Lumby J, Manage Educ 30:161–167, 2016, p. 161). It remains a resilient leadership concept in the guise of professional capital, collaborative networks, and teacher-led reform (Hargreaves A, J Prof Cap Community 1, 2016; Hargreaves A, Ainscow M, Phi Delta Kappan 97:42–48, 2015; Harris A, J Manage Dev 30:20–32, 2011a; Harris A, Distributed leadership matters: perspectives, practicalities, and potential. Corwin Press, Thousand Oaks, CA, 2013b). Empirical research exploring distribution dilemmas queries the coexistence of distributed leadership and hierarchical leadership, the relationship between the leader and the distributees, as well as the leadership distribution process (Mifsud D, Educ Manage Adm Leadersh 45:978–1001, 2017a). This chapter revisits the literature narrative around the concept of distributed leadership and problematizes this particular school leadership discourse drawing on the work of Michel Foucault, more specifically his notion of governmentality, with a focus on the analytics of government. Distributed leadership, perceived as one of the various educational leadership discourses, emerges as a regime of government, an assembling process, and a mode of subjectification. School leadership is presented as being about distributed leadership to foster empowerment and autonomy, where the governmentality at play thus uses distributed leadership as a means of attaining the desired leadership goals (Gillies D, Educational leadership and Michel Foucault. Routledge, London, 2013). Analyzing distributed leadership discourse through a Foucauldian governmentality perspective positions leadership as a locus of political struggle, thereby enabling school leaders to be open to nontraditional ways of seeing the world. The critique presented in this chapter may thus be significant for educational practice, policy, and theory in terms of the generation of problematization.KeywordsDistributed leadershipEducational leadership discoursesFoucaultGovernmentalityProblematics of government