Using Foucault's Concepts in Higher Education Studies

Abstract

Since the second half of the last century, Michel Foucault has been one of the most critical thinkers because his works have reshaped and changed many different academic fields and disciplines. Foucault's work has been accepted as a reference for researchers from various disciplines, and his method and unique use of concepts have been utilized. Moreover, higher education studies have emerged as a different academic field since WWII. Higher education has been evaluated with a policy-based approach. Universities are examined as institutions that perform education, research, and social service functions. This article discusses how the French philosopher Michel Foucault's concepts of dispositif, knowledge, power governmentality discourse, etc. can be used in the field of higher education studies. In this study, first of all, the literature in the field of higher education studies will be reviewed from the past to the present; secondly, Foucault's method and concepts will be emphasized, and a discussion will be carried out on how these concepts can be used in higher education studies.