ABSTRACT
This chapter reveals philosophical systems held simultaneously within what Foucault names the archaeological system. Arguing that all knowledge is embedded in power, Foucault's work suggests that the process of regulation within industrial organisation limits its knowledge assimilation. The chapter presents a panoramic approach to examining the discursive routes that have contributed to the development of the education sector. The rules of archaeology reject universalism in favour of a panoramic view, in order to explain how one epistemic approach, 'discursive practice', could change in preference to another – the principle of reversal. It remains important to be cautious and recognise the limitations of the panoramic explanatory power of discourse analysis. The deconstruction of meaning in communication brings its own problems. It remains important to recognise that inputs to social issues are multifactorial, interrelated and individually interpreted; as a consequence, any attempt to evaluate language has to be understood in its social context.
