Katariina Nuutila

Katariina Nuutila is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Education, University of Helsinki. She holds a Master of Education from the Faculty of Educational Sciences (2014) and completed her doctoral studies there in 2024 with a thesis exploring motivational dynamics in educational contexts.

Her research focuses on student motivation, achievement goal orientations, self-efficacy perceptions, and their interplay with academic performance. Key areas include task engagement patterns, longitudinal developmental trajectories, and the motivational mechanisms underlying educational success. Her work employs both quantitative (e.g., statistical modeling) and qualitative methods (e.g., latent class analysis).

Recent projects include EDUCA: Education for the Future (Academy of Finland, 2024–2028) and NordForsk collaboration (2023–2026), examining future-oriented educational challenges. She actively participates in academic conferences like EARLI and Kasvatustieteen päivät, presenting findings on motivational theory and empirical research outcomes.

Her publications emphasize reciprocal relationships between interest, self-efficacy, and performance, with methodological contributions to understanding motivational profiles among students. This work has implications for educational practice through insights into fostering adaptive motivational patterns and supporting student transitions into adulthood.