Anton Birioukov-Brant | University of Ottawa | Université d'Ottawa (original) (raw)
Papers by Anton Birioukov-Brant
Frontiers in Education, 2019
Compulsory school attendance is enacted legislation in every Canadian province. Provincial Minist... more Compulsory school attendance is enacted legislation in every Canadian province. Provincial Ministry of Education attendance expectations trickle down to the school boards, which create mandatory attendance policies stipulating that students be present at school irrespective of their ability to attend. A body of literature has documented the numerous and often insurmountable obstacles many youths face with respect to consistently attending school. Issues that impede consistent attendance include abuse, poverty, violence, and mental health disorders. However, attendance policies do not pay credence to these issues. Rather, school educators are expected to follow the policies in their rigid conception. This creates tension for the educators, who are expected to uphold unilaterally imposed policies, and yet enact these policies in such a way that does not compromise their students' education. Educators working in alternative schools are often confronted with this moral dilemma because these schools serve high numbers of students often absent from school. As such, we sought to understand the professional and ethical tensions alternative high school staff experience when navigating the enforcement of mandatory attendance polices. This study was carried out in a large city in the Canadian province of Ontario, where the school board's attendance policy requires students over the age of 18 to be demitted from enrollment if they miss 12 consecutive days of school without a "legitimate" excuse. Semi-structured interviews with 16 staff members in four alternative high schools revealed the inherent difficulty of responding to the needs of students by allowing them to miss some school while also meeting the legal obligations of the mandatory attendance policy established by the school board. We argue that these alternative school educators are active policy makers in their own right, as they interpret, co-opt, appropriate, and negotiate the attendance policy with the realities of their students' lives.
The Qualitative Report, 2017
This paper considers the historic concept of flânerie, the act of “strolling” through urban space... more This paper considers the historic concept of flânerie, the act of “strolling” through urban spaces, as an unconventional approach to gathering qualitative data. In adopting a flânerie identity, the researcher is able to critically analyze urban spaces and the relation of self to those spaces. Through a (re)conceptualization of the 19th century flâneur, we explicate the methodological possibilities and applications of flânerie, in particular, as suited to excavating new urban tropes, whilst giving expression to new urban subjectivities. The authors adopt a flânerie identity, engaging in a qualitative inquiry vis-à-vis two “strolls” occurring in Toronto, Canada. The strolls provide opportunities to interrogate subjectivities and perceptions of the authors in relation to the urban spaces they were traversing. In doing so, this paper emphasizes the legitimacy of adopting a flâneur identity as a valid source of qualitative inquiry; one that is able to bring meaning to spaces and places.
Educational Review, 2016
Student absenteeism in secondary schools has received international academic attention for quite ... more Student absenteeism in secondary schools has received international academic attention for quite some time. Absenteeism has been linked to diminished academic outcomes and is one of the leading causes of high school dropout. Although absenteeism is a serious concern for educational scholars, the definitions of absences and their subtypes are inadequately developed in academic literature. The overreliance on excused/unexcused absences that posit the school and the family as the arbitrators of the validity of an absence is a troubling concern, as it glosses over the underlying causes for an absence. This study outlines and critiques the varying conceptions of absenteeism found in the literature and proposes the use of the voluntary/involuntary absenteeism framework as a viable approach to studying non-attendance. The voluntary absence concept is cognizant of the motivational factors affecting student attendance. When the school is perceived as a hostile environment that is often equated with failure some pupils may voluntarily choose to avoid the institution. Involuntary absences refer to absences that are imposed on the student by the conditions of her or his life. Having to work to supplement familial income can often negate a youth’s ability to be present in school. This framework provides an opportunity to both acknowledge the students’ agency in deciding when to attend and to investigate deeper the students’ life circumstances that hinder regular attendance.
Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, 2016
An encyclopedia entry on absenteeism.
Frontiers in Education, 2019
Compulsory school attendance is enacted legislation in every Canadian province. Provincial Minist... more Compulsory school attendance is enacted legislation in every Canadian province. Provincial Ministry of Education attendance expectations trickle down to the school boards, which create mandatory attendance policies stipulating that students be present at school irrespective of their ability to attend. A body of literature has documented the numerous and often insurmountable obstacles many youths face with respect to consistently attending school. Issues that impede consistent attendance include abuse, poverty, violence, and mental health disorders. However, attendance policies do not pay credence to these issues. Rather, school educators are expected to follow the policies in their rigid conception. This creates tension for the educators, who are expected to uphold unilaterally imposed policies, and yet enact these policies in such a way that does not compromise their students' education. Educators working in alternative schools are often confronted with this moral dilemma because these schools serve high numbers of students often absent from school. As such, we sought to understand the professional and ethical tensions alternative high school staff experience when navigating the enforcement of mandatory attendance polices. This study was carried out in a large city in the Canadian province of Ontario, where the school board's attendance policy requires students over the age of 18 to be demitted from enrollment if they miss 12 consecutive days of school without a "legitimate" excuse. Semi-structured interviews with 16 staff members in four alternative high schools revealed the inherent difficulty of responding to the needs of students by allowing them to miss some school while also meeting the legal obligations of the mandatory attendance policy established by the school board. We argue that these alternative school educators are active policy makers in their own right, as they interpret, co-opt, appropriate, and negotiate the attendance policy with the realities of their students' lives.
The Qualitative Report, 2017
This paper considers the historic concept of flânerie, the act of “strolling” through urban space... more This paper considers the historic concept of flânerie, the act of “strolling” through urban spaces, as an unconventional approach to gathering qualitative data. In adopting a flânerie identity, the researcher is able to critically analyze urban spaces and the relation of self to those spaces. Through a (re)conceptualization of the 19th century flâneur, we explicate the methodological possibilities and applications of flânerie, in particular, as suited to excavating new urban tropes, whilst giving expression to new urban subjectivities. The authors adopt a flânerie identity, engaging in a qualitative inquiry vis-à-vis two “strolls” occurring in Toronto, Canada. The strolls provide opportunities to interrogate subjectivities and perceptions of the authors in relation to the urban spaces they were traversing. In doing so, this paper emphasizes the legitimacy of adopting a flâneur identity as a valid source of qualitative inquiry; one that is able to bring meaning to spaces and places.
Educational Review, 2016
Student absenteeism in secondary schools has received international academic attention for quite ... more Student absenteeism in secondary schools has received international academic attention for quite some time. Absenteeism has been linked to diminished academic outcomes and is one of the leading causes of high school dropout. Although absenteeism is a serious concern for educational scholars, the definitions of absences and their subtypes are inadequately developed in academic literature. The overreliance on excused/unexcused absences that posit the school and the family as the arbitrators of the validity of an absence is a troubling concern, as it glosses over the underlying causes for an absence. This study outlines and critiques the varying conceptions of absenteeism found in the literature and proposes the use of the voluntary/involuntary absenteeism framework as a viable approach to studying non-attendance. The voluntary absence concept is cognizant of the motivational factors affecting student attendance. When the school is perceived as a hostile environment that is often equated with failure some pupils may voluntarily choose to avoid the institution. Involuntary absences refer to absences that are imposed on the student by the conditions of her or his life. Having to work to supplement familial income can often negate a youth’s ability to be present in school. This framework provides an opportunity to both acknowledge the students’ agency in deciding when to attend and to investigate deeper the students’ life circumstances that hinder regular attendance.
Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, 2016
An encyclopedia entry on absenteeism.