Sonja Kosunen

I work as Professor of Education. My research interests are widely in the construction of inequalities in education and are positioned in the academic fields of sociology of education and urban studies. I am the director of Social studies in Urban Education (SURE) -research unit.

In our research unit, several research projects are currently underway:

The Opettajasegregaatio Suomessa (OpeSegr) project (Kone Foundation, 2025–2029) examines the manifestation of teacher segregation among qualified and non-qualified special education teachers, early childhood education teachers, class teachers, and subject teachers in Finland. The analysis is based on previously collected survey and interview data from general upper secondary education, comprehensive education, and early childhood education and care. Additionally, the project investigates teachers’ backgrounds and descriptions of being a teacher across different regions.

In the Tasa-arvorahoitus (TAR) consortium (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2024–2027), the effectiveness of measures promoting educational equality and equity in early childhood education and care as well as in pre-primary and comprehensive education is being studied. SURE research unit is responsible for conducting the qualitative work-package related to comprehensive education within the project.

In the project Stratification and the Segregation of Teachers in Education Markets (SegrEd) (ERC, 2025–2030), a theoretical framework and conceptual tools are being developed to combine the research fields of stratification and segregation studies. The project compares the social construction and regional differentiation of teachers in comprehensive education in France, Sweden, and Finland. For cross-national comparison in addition to register data, the project will produce national surveys and regionally targeted interviews with classteachers and subject teachers in all three countries.

In addition, several postdoctoral researchers’ individual research projects and doctoral dissertations are currently underway within SURE.