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.

I find Foucault’s practice as historian of systems of thought useful for my own research. I appreciate how he approaches historical events on their own terms, and develops new concepts and methods for investigating them.

When considering ‘theory,’ I draw on his description of problematics/problematisations: how the focus and framing of problems changes over time.

I draw on his view of ‘discourse’ as the terms and rules of disagreement, and how problems shape what counts as acceptable evidence. Problems structure the object of debate, the modes of inquiry, and the concepts used.

I also value his genealogical analysis of authority and legitimacy, and of how some problem-framings come to be stabilised as more valid than others.

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. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350471917.ch-2
• 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. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350471917.ch-1
• 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.