Jayne Malenfant

Jayne Malenfant is carrying out her PhD at McGill University in the department of Integrated Studies in Education. Born in Kapuskasing, Ontario, and having bounced all over Canada throughout her life, she is currently a resident of Montréal, Québec.

Malenfant's previous research focused on anarchist youth living in rural Canada, with an emphasis on their autonomy and activism outside of traditional political realms. This research took place in the Social Anthropology department at York University, and was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Joseph Bombardier Canadian Graduate Scholarship. Her doctoral research focuses on educational access for young people experiencing housing precarity and poverty, and aims to make concrete shifts in how youth perspectives and experiences shape institutional interventions.

Throughout her academic career and personal life Jayne has held a commitment to open and fair work (whether scholarship or activism), which attempts to break down traditional hierarchies. She continues to carry out research which is participatory and community-based at its core, with an explicit focus on research which supports action in the everyday lives of people. Drawing on her own experiences, as well as the experiences of those she works with, she aims to continue work which directly improves the supports and opportunities for precariously housed youth, and young people more broadly.