I am a member of the International Foucault Collective for Educational Leadership and Policy.

In my research with this group, I have investigated the uptake of Michel Foucault’s work in the fields of educational leadership and educational policy.

Admittedly, my own reading of Foucault goes against the grain in educational leadership studies. I see his work primarily as a historian of systems of thought. I think his main value lies in how he approaches each historical problem afresh, and develops new concepts and methods as he tracks historical revisions over time.

My own work has largely drawn on his treatment of thought [pensée/savoir] and discursive practices, which differs from the accent that scholars usually place on ‘power’ or ‘subjectivity’. I view his work on ‘power’ mainly through the lens of knowledge: as a positive and productive alternative to ideology critique, wherein knowledge is held to be censored or repressed by ruling classes. In one of my more unusual takes, I personally believe that his best work on ‘subjectivity’ is actually the Archaeology of Knowledge, with all its internal monologues, constant revisions, and the self-interrogation in the conclusion.

Research Outputs:

• Bongers, A. (2026). Feeling the way in the dark: Archaeological research in educational leadership. In R. Niesche & D. Mifsud (Eds.), Thinking with Michel Foucault in educational leadership (pp. 47–74). Bloomsbury.
• Mifsud, D., Niesche, R., & Bongers, A. (2026). Michel Foucault and educational leadership: The state of the field and where to from here? In R. Niesche & D. Mifsud (Eds.), Thinking with Michel Foucault in educational leadership (pp. 13–46). Bloomsbury.
• Niesche, R., Mifsud, D., Bongers, A. (2024, July 5-7). Educational leadership and Michel Foucault: A scoping review of contributions and impact [Paper presentation]. BELMAS Annual Conference, Glasgow, Scotland.
• Niesche, R., Mifsud, D., Bongers, A. (2023, November 29). Michel Foucault and educational leadership: The state of the field and where to from here? [Paper presentation]. AARE Annual Conference, Melbourne, Australia.