Abstract:
As the enduring focus on education reform sees an amplification and proliferation of voices seeking to influence the work of school leaders, my research investigates how discourses influence school principals’ subjectification.
The international reform agenda has sharpened its focus on educational leaders over the last 15 years (Berkovich & Benoliel, 2021), alongside the rise of principal standards and school leadership academies (Abdullah & Kassim, 2011). As the world is faced with increasing social polarisation, other interest groups are also seeking to influence the work of principals, including media commentators, think tanks and a raft of publications promising the key to successful school leadership. Simultaneously, research continues to find that school leaders are facing a relentless escalation in workload, work demands, scrutiny and deteriorating wellbeing. Educational systems around the world are confronting a looming workforce shortage. My research makes use of Foucault’s work in considering how humans are made subjects, through different modes (Foucault, 1994). In this paper, I consider the influence of popular culture on principal subject formation. This analysis considers themes and patterns of representations of school principals in English-language narrative film, television and novels, along with Australian print media articles. The internalisation of these ‘lessons’ in the subject formation of six principals is then explored, interrogating the process of identity formation within the current intersection of discourse.
The international reform agenda has sharpened its focus on educational leaders over the last 15 years (Berkovich & Benoliel, 2021), alongside the rise of principal standards and school leadership academies (Abdullah & Kassim, 2011). As the world is faced with increasing social polarisation, other interest groups are also seeking to influence the work of principals, including media commentators, think tanks and a raft of publications promising the key to successful school leadership. Simultaneously, research continues to find that school leaders are facing a relentless escalation in workload, work demands, scrutiny and deteriorating wellbeing. Educational systems around the world are confronting a looming workforce shortage. My research makes use of Foucault’s work in considering how humans are made subjects, through different modes (Foucault, 1994). In this paper, I consider the influence of popular culture on principal subject formation. This analysis considers themes and patterns of representations of school principals in English-language narrative film, television and novels, along with Australian print media articles. The internalisation of these ‘lessons’ in the subject formation of six principals is then explored, interrogating the process of identity formation within the current intersection of discourse.