Anniina Kettunen

Anniina Kettunen is a Doctor of Philosophy (Education) and a University Teacher. Her research explores teacher identities, emotions, and well-being in the context of a changing teacher's profession. In her doctoral research, she examined the emotional dimension of pre-service teacher identity construction through visual narratives. In her postdoctoral research, she explores cultural teacher stories and the power structures entangled within them.

Kettunen’s research is grounded in narrative and arts-based methodologies as well as poststructuralist theories. The use of arts-based methods in research is based on the capacity of art to evoke and support the expression of emotions and to encourage multiple, even conflicting, interpretations. Art enables the exploration of experiences that may be hard to verbalize, allows engagement with embodied forms of knowledge, and fosters empathy. Creative and innovative research methodologies are needed to address societal challenges, dismantle power relations, and develop more sustainable ways of understanding education and teaching.

Kettunen is a founding member of Taideverkko – Arts-Based and Creative Researchers Network, together with Eveliina Puutio and Marian Tumanyan. Her research is affiliated with the Narratives in Educational Research collective (NarratED) and the Social Justice in the Focus of Education research group (SAFE).

Kettunen’s research is highly timely, as teaching has become increasingly demanding and publicly contested. Her doctoral research demonstrated that cultural teacher stories evoke pressure and vulnerability among pre-service teachers. Her doctoral research was conducted as part of two research projects: Unpacking and Redefining Changing Relationships in Teachers’ Work (RELA, 2020–2024, Research Council of Finland) and Pre-service Teachers Navigate Teachers’ Changing Work and Its Relationality (NAVI, 2022–2025, Eudaimonia Institute, University of Oulu).