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Applying Michel Foucault's Power Theory in Higher Education Leadership

Author

Listed:
  • Mmalefikane Sylvia Sepeng

    (Department of Leadership and Management, College of Education, University of South Africa)

  • Victor J. Pitsoe

    (Department of Leadership and Management, College of Education, University of South Africa)

Abstract

Michel Foucault's ideas about power have profoundly influenced numerous academic disciplines, including educational leadership. Within higher education, traditional conceptions of power as something possessed or exercised hierarchically are routinely challenged and reconfigured through Foucauldian frameworks. This article examines six core themes-disciplinary power, surveillance, governmentality, knowledge and discourse, resistance, and subjectification—and interrogates their relevance in the context of higher education leadership. Drawing from a rich palette of global case studies and empirical reflections, the analysis unpacks how power relations saturate institutional structures, policy-making, and daily practices, shaping agency and constraints for leaders, faculty, and students alike. Throughout, the article foregrounds the dynamic and relational nature of power in universities, advocating for a more reflexive and ethically attuned leadership paradigm that resists simplistic binaries and promotes emancipatory possibilities.

Suggested Citation

  • Mmalefikane Sylvia Sepeng & Victor J. Pitsoe, 2025. "Applying Michel Foucault's Power Theory in Higher Education Leadership," Annals of the University of Craiova for Journalism, Communication and Management, Department of Communication, Journalism and Education Sciences, University of Craiova, vol. 11(1), pages 179-185, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:edt:aucjcm:v:11:y:2025:i:1:p:179-185
    DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17849954
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mariya Ivancheva & Kathleen Lynch & Kathryn Keating, 2019. "Precarity, gender and care in the neoliberal academy," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(4), pages 448-462, May.
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    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

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