Kristiina BrunilaView profile
Professor
Kristiina Brunila is Professor of Educational Sciences at the University of Helsinki , Finland. She is affiliated with the Department of Educational Sciences , the AGORA Research Center for Social Justice and Equality in Education , the Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS) , and the Teachers' Academy . She also serves as a supervisor in the Doctoral Programs in Gender, Culture, and Society Studies and in School, Education, Society, and Culture. Her research critically examines the intersections of education, power, and governance , with a particular focus on neoliberal policy regimes , therapeutic governance , youth subjectification , and educational inequality . She employs feminist , deconstructive , and discursive methodologies to explore how education systems produce and regulate subjectivities under market-driven and psychologized paradigms. Brunila has led and co-led multiple externally funded research projects, including AGORAEd , FuturEd , CoSupport , and TASOVA , addressing themes such as social justice in education, youth vulnerability, and future-oriented governance. Her work has been recognized with awards such as the Maikki Friberg Equality Award and the Adult Educator of the Year . Scientific Awards: Adult Educator of the Year (2011) Faculty Student Union Merit Badge with Golden Merit (2012) Candidate for Bonus Magister – Excellent Teacher Award (2016) Honourable Mention, Nordic Journal of Migration Research Best Article Award (2024) Maikki Friberg Equality Award (2021) Doctoral Supervision and Mentoring: Supervisor or co-supervisor of 14+ doctoral theses Supervisor in Doctoral Program in Gender, Culture and Society Studies Supervisor in Doctoral Program in School, Education, Society and Culture Research Projects: AGORAEd : AGORA for the study of social justice and equality (Project Director) FuturEd : Interrupting Future Trajectories of the Precision Education Governance (Project Director) CoSupport : Interrupting Youth Support Systems in the Ethos of Vulnerability (Project Director) TASOVA : Equality in Regional Development (Project Director)





