I am a postdoctoral researcher in the research project ‘Breadline Utopias: Alternative Futures of Material Assistance,’ funded by the Kone Foundation. We explore utopias of those working in food assistance now and in the future, as well as those who need food aid.
I earned my Doctor of Philosophy degree in 2024 from the University of Surrey in the field of sociology of education. My doctoral research was part of the ERC-funded Eurostudents project, which explored constructions of contemporary higher education students by various social actors across six European countries. In my thesis, ‘Discursive Politics of Studentship: Representation of Higher Education Students in the News Media Across Europe,’ I examined and compared constructions of students in newspapers in Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, Poland, and Spain.
My research interests encompass a wide range of higher education-related themes, including student identities and discursive practices of identity formation, marketisation of higher education, educational inequalities, media studies, and cross-national and international higher education research. Currently, my research focuses on utopian theories and methods, students’ utopias of food assistance, as well as the political imagination and agency of students in a changing welfare society.
Research groups
Projects
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Lainio, A. (2023) Independent learner as the ideal – normative representations of higher education students in film and television drama across Europe, Critical Studies in Education, DOI: 10.1080/17508487.2023.2210627
Salonen, A-S., Laiho, M., Lainio, A. and Myllys, R. (2023) Moninaiset tulevaisuudet: Nuorten utopioiden ulottuvuudet. In S. Mikkola and S-M. Saarelainen (eds), Milleniaalien kirkko: Kulttuuriset muutokset ja kristillinen usko. Pp. 286–313, Kirkon tutkimuskeskus. https://julkaisut.evl.fi/catalog/Tutkimukset%20ja%20julkaisut/r/4322/viewmode=infoview
Brooks, R., Gupta, A., Jayadeva, S. & Lainio, A. (2023) Constructing ‘ideal’ students within contemporary higher education: editorial introduction, International Studies in Sociology of Education, 32:1, 1-10, DOI: 10.1080/09620214.2023.2171901
Brooks, R., Gupta, A., Jayadeva, S., Lainio, A. & Lazetic, P. (2022) Constructing the Higher Education Student: Perspectives from Across Europe. Policy Press.
Lainio, A. & Brooks R. (2021) Constructing students as family members: contestations in media and policy representations across Europe, in R. Brooks & S. O’Shea (eds), Re-imagining the Higher Education Student. Constructing and Contesting Identities. Routledge.
Jayadeva, S., Brooks, R., Gupta, A., Abrahams, J., Lažetič, P., & Lainio, A. (2021). Are Spanish Students Customers? Paradoxical Perceptions of the Impact of Marketisation on Higher Education in Spain. Sociological Research Online, 26(1), 185-204. https://doi.org/10.1177/1360780420968577
Brooks, R., Gupta, A., Jayadeva, S., & Lainio, A. (2021). Students in Marketised Higher Education Landscapes: An Introduction. Sociological Research Online, 26(1), 125-129. https://doi.org/10.1177/1360780420971651
Brooks, R., Lainio, A. & Lažetić, P. (2020) Using creative methods to research across difference. An introduction to the special issue, International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 23(1), 1-6. DOI: 10.1080/13645579.2019.1672281
Publications
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Dreaming can be a political act. And HE should support it
Lainio, Anu; Salonen, Anna Sofia, 2026, University World News. E1 Popularised article, newspaper article -
Hankala poliittisuus korkeakouluopiskelijoiden utopioissa: Poliittisen mielikuvituksen rajat, reunaehdot ja raot
Lainio, Anu; Salonen, Anna Sofia, 2026, Kasvatus, 57, 3, 348-364. A1 Journal article (refereed), original research -
Imagining otherwise: how students practise political agency
Lainio, Anu; Salonen, Anna Sofia, 16.01.2026, SRHE blog. E1 Popularised article, newspaper article -
Ruoka-apua vai vaihtoehtoistaloutta? Sillanylityksiä tieteenalojen, menetelmien ja maanosien väliltä
Huotari, Rosa; Salonen, Anna Sofia; Lainio, Anu, 2026, Diakonian tutkimus, 2, 80-83. B1 Non-refereed journal articles -
Utopiapedagogiikka: mahdollisten maailmojen merkitys opetuksessa
Eskelinen, Teppo; Korhonen, Tuomas; Lainio, Anu, Ryynänen, Sanna; Salonen, Anna Sofia, 2025, Yliopistopedagogiikka, 32, 2. B1 Non-refereed journal articles -
Hävikistä hyvikkiä? Ruoka-apu ei ratkaise ruokahävikin ja ruokaköyhyyden ongelmia
Salonen, Anna Sofia; Laiho, Marjukka; Lainio, Anu; Pollari, Milja, 2024, MustRead. E1 Popularised article, newspaper article