Members

Professor • University of Eastern Finland
Markku Niemivirta, PhD, Docent of Educational Psychology
My research interests include i) developmental relationships between motivation, achievement and subjective well-being (e.g., perfectionism, engagement, and burnout), ii) situational dynamics in motivation and task engagement, and iii) mathematics learning and its antecedents and outcomes.

Professor • University of Eastern Finland
Heta Tuominen, PhD, Docent of Education & Educational Psychology
My research links the study of motivation with well-being and explores both among children and young people. Currently, I examine the developmental and situational dynamics between students’ motivation, perfectionism, and academic well-being across secondary education, and consider the role of student welfare in supporting students' learning and well-being.

Professor • University of Eastern Finland
Jaana Viljaranta, PhD, Docent of Psychology
My research focus is on the development of motivation and on the role of motivation in learning. I am particularly interested in different individual and contextual factors, such as temperament and teacher-student interaction, that may play a role in the development of motivation. I hope my research would increase our understanding about how we can support different kinds of learners in their educational paths.

Professor • University of Oulu
Riikka Mononen, PhD, Docent of Education
My research focuses on individual differences in children’s mathematics development and its interplay with other cognitive skills, motivation, and emotions. I am also interested in exploring what additional value measures of physiological responses can provide us related to these topics. I enjoy developing new mathematics assessment and intervention materials, which teachers can use in supporting children’s mathematics learning.

Professor • Åbo Akademi University
Johan Korhonen, PhD, Docent of Special Education
My research focuses mainly on (1) mathematical learning difficulties and (2) cognitive and affective factors related to mathematics performance. Currently, math anxiety is in the spotlight in my ongoing research projects.

Military Professor • National Defence University
Antti-Tuomas Pulkka, PhD, Lt Col, Docent of Learning Environment Research
My research interests focus on learning environment from viewpoints of motivation and learning and in different contexts (i.e., military education, physical education, and simulations). Examinations of this field in various contexts and with different approaches and methods offer intriguing and challenging paths to explore.

University Researcher • University of Eastern Finland
Riikka Hirvonen, PhD
My research focuses on students’ beliefs and behaviors in learning situations, and their relation with learning outcomes, school well-being, academic emotions, and temperament. Understanding individual differences and developmental trajectories of these factors will be important in developing individually planned support for students with learning difficulties or problems in school adjustment.

Postdoctoral Researcher • Åbo Akademi University
Anna Tapola, PhD
My research interests focus on the interplay between students’ individual characteristics (e.g., individual interest, self-control, and competence perceptions) and motivational states (e.g., situational interest and self-efficacy). I enjoy thinking about complex person × context interactions, and the possibility of coherence in variability in students’ motivation.

Academy Research Fellow • Åbo Akademi University
Anna Widlund, PhD, Docent of Educational Psychology
I am interested in exploring the developmental dynamics between students' academic well-being, motivational beliefs, and academic performance, particularly during educational transitions. I focus on individual differences in the development of school engagement and burnout, how these are related to students’ motivational beliefs and performance, and, how these jointly shape students’ aspirations for their future education and occupation.

Postdoctoral Researcher • University of Eastern Finland
Anna Rawlings, PhD
My research interests focus on the impact of individual difference factors such as temperament on motivation among students of different ages, which also is the topic of my dissertation. Ultimately, I hope my research might contribute towards supporting students in finding the joy of learning.

Postdoctoral Researcher • University of Helsinki
Katariina Nuutila, PhD
My research focuses on task-specific and longitudinal dynamics between elementary school students’ interest, competence perceptions, and performance. In the future, I will take this exploration further by including other relevant motivational factors, which may influence these dynamics, and by examining these relationships across different contexts and age-groups.

Postdoctoral Researcher • University of Oulu
Pinja Tähti, PhD
My research interests focus on individual differences in mathematical development and how factors, such as mathematical anxiety, physical activity, and fundamental motor skills affect mathematical development. I am particularly interested in developing intervention programs to support children’s mathematical learning during preschool and primary school years.

PhD Researcher • University of Eastern Finland
Minna Ikävalko, PhD
I am interested in how students interpret their self-efficacy experiences related to self-regulation skills in learning situations, that is, sources of self-efficacy in self-regulation. In my dissertation the topic is studied from cross-sectional, longitudinal and person-oriented approaches to gain novel insight into how primary school students’ self-regulation experiences emerge, change, and develop during one school year.

PhD Researcher • University of Eastern Finland
Fiia Söderholm, PhD
I am interested in the well-being of adolescents in upper secondary education, particularly focusing on school burnout and student engagement. My aim is to gain a better understanding of the difficulties and support needs that academically high-achieving students may encounter during their studies. I hope that the implications of my findings will provide new insights for school personnel in general upper secondary education.
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PhD Researcher • University of Eastern Finland
Henriikka Juntunen, MEd
My research interests focus on students’ achievement motivation and well-being outcomes. Specifically, my PhD project explores the diverse patterns of university students’ motivation (expectancy-value), their development over time, how the different patterns contribute to students’ well-being, and the role students’ study-related experiences play in these relationships.

PhD Researcher • University of Eastern Finland
Anna Kuusi, MEd
My research interests are in motivation, perfectionism, and academic well-being outcomes. My dissertation focuses on upper secondary students’ perfectionism, academic and general well-being, and achievement striving, with a special focus on gender differences and developmental dynamics. Hopefully my research will produce a better understanding of the role perfectionistic strivings and concerns play in students well-being.

PhD Researcher • University of Turku
Anni Holmström, MEd
My dissertation focuses on the role of interprofessional collaboration in promoting teacher and pupil well-being. I am particularly interested in engagement, burnout, and self-efficacy as dimensions of well-being. As there is no clear overall understanding of interprofessional collaboration in schools and its effects on teachers and pupils, my research aims to provide new, important knowledge on the topic.
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PhD Researcher • University of Eastern Finland
Hans Lehikoinen, MEd
My dissertation explores mathematics achievement and motivation in co- and solo-taught classrooms. I am fascinated by student motivation and different factors that influence it in a classroom context. I am also eager to learn more on statistical methodology and experimental research. In due course, I hope that my research will help schools and teachers to better support student learning, motivation and well-being

PhD Researcher • University of Eastern Finland
Juho Tiainen, MEd
My PhD project focuses on middle school students' motivation to study mathematics, upper secondary school choices, and career intentions. In this project, I am interested in what kind of short- and long-term changes can be achieved with a relevance intervention.

Visiting PhD Researcher • University of Eastern Finland
Katja Saxer, MEd
My research interests focus on student well-being, teacher-student relationships, and student-student relationships. My PhD project aims to investigate the interplay between classroom relationships and multiple dimensions of student well-being, while also considering the influence of different student backgrounds such as age, gender, migration history, and socioeconomic status.