Abstract:
My project examines how discourses of school improvement, principal authority and leadership embedded in current education policies impact the work and ethical subjectivity of secondary school principals in NSW public schools. Notions of leadership, embraced by government as the panacea for solving the ‘problem’ of NSW public education, often places principals in the precarious position of being responsible and accountable for all that occurs in their schools, much of which is outside their control. My research is a qualitative study involving two semi-structured interviews with six secondary school principals. Schools are purposefully chosen that represent the socioeconomic and sociocultural diversity of school communities across Sydney. Interview data and policy problematisation (Bacchi & Goodwin, 2015) are analysed through the lens of Foucault’s concepts of power, discourse and subjectivity. The focus of this presentation uses Foucault’s concepts of governmentality, disciplinary or normalising power, biopolitics and pastoral power to facilitate understanding of the complexities of the principals’ location at the nexus between the sometimes-conflicting demands of the school community and the Department of Education. The actions of principals as they navigate the complex web of government policy and processes, in the context of the subsequent increasing workload, reveal an array of creative and innovative forms of resistance.