Ulpukka Isopahkala-Bouret
PhD
Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education, CELE ulpukka.isopahkala-bouret@utu.fi +358 29 450 3883 +358 50 501 7306 Assistentinkatu 5 Turku : 380 |
higher education; adult education; equality and justice in education; access to higher education; graduate employability; educational life course
I am working as a professor of education at University of Turku, Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education (CELE), with a special emphasis on educational equality and justice. I have a title of docent at University of Helsinki. I have worked at University of Helsinki in various academic positions 2005-2016. I have been a team leader in the Nordic Centre of Excellence (2013-2018): ‘Justice through education in the Nordic countries’ (http://blogs.helsinki.fi/just-ed/). In addition, I have been a visiting scholar at University of Iceland (Iceland), University of Surrey (UK) and Northern Illinois University (USA).
Since 2019, I have been a Chief Editor of Aikuiskasvatus, a peer-reviewed adult education research journal: https://aikuiskasvatus.fi/
I have developed over time what one might describe as
a cumulative research agenda. My research interest include equality in/through education, educational credentialing, access to higher education, graduate employability, and professional career trajectories. I am specialised in
qualitative research, especially in narrative and discursive analysis. My research is particularly relevant to the fields of education
policy, sociology of education, adult education, and life course studies. I
apply theories from social sciences and cultural studies and most of my
research projects are multi-disciplinary. I have recently expanded the research
literature, especially on:
- credentialism and the relative
value of degrees, - fairness of access and
non-attainment to higher education, and - adult graduates’ employability
CURRENTLY, I am leading a research project: ‘Higher
education graduates’ employability and social positioning in the labour market’
(duration Sep 2018 – Aug 2022), funded by Academy of Finland as a consortium
between University of Turku and University of Eastern Finland. https://www.uef.fi/web/highemploy/
PREVIOUS
RESEARCH PROJECTS:
2016-2018 ‘Cross-cutting themes and issues in the
Nordic higher education research’, NordForsk
2011–2015 'Ageing and expertise. Narrative inquiry
into the experiences of older workers who acquire Master's degrees in their
fifties', Academy of Finland
2009–2010 'Competence and the dual model of the
Finnish system of higher education', Ministry of Education
2009–2013 'Citizenship, agency and difference in
upper secondary education', Academy of Finland
My current teaching includes:
- Educational Equality and Justice
- Aspects of sociology and politics of education
- Ajankohtaiset koulutuspolitiikan ilmiöt ja tasa-arvo
- Doctoral course on qualitative methodologies - lecture on narrative analysis
- Writing and publishing research
- Graduseminaari
- Relative Employability: Applying the Insights of Positional Competition and Conflict Theories Within the Current Higher Education Landscape (2023) Rethinking Graduate Employability in Context : Discourse, Policy and Practice Isopahkala-Bouret Ulpukka, Tholen Gerbrand
- Rethinking Graduate Employability in Context : Discourse, Policy and Practice (2023) Siivonen Päivi, Isopahkala-Bouret Ulpukka, Tomlinson Michael, Korhonen Maija, Haltia Nina
- ‘Some people may feel socially excluded and distressed’: finnish business students’ participation in extracurricular activities and the accumulation of cultural capital (2023)
- Journal of Education and Work
- Tieteen yleistajuistaminen vahvistaa osallisuutta sivistysyhteiskunnassa (2023)
- Aikuiskasvatus
- Työllistettävyyden vaateet kohdistuvat erityisesti nuoriin naisiin (2023)
- Ilmiö - sosiologinen media kaikille
- Työväenluokkaisesta taustasta ekonomiksi – tasapainoilua kahden maailman välillä (2023) Koulutus ja yhteiskuntaluokka : Kasvatussosiologian vuosikirja 4 Haltia Nina, Isopahkala-Bouret Ulpukka, Mutanen Heli
- University graduates' perceptions of institutional hierarchies. The case of Finnish Master's degree in business administration and economics (2023)
- Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research
- "You can be taken more seriously" : Finnish business graduates' perceptions of the employability and social prestige of their degrees (2023)
- Journal of Further and Higher Education
- Young and/but successful: business graduates performing themselves as valuable labouring subjects (2023)
- Journal of Youth Studies
- Jatkuva oppiminen on lupaus paremmasta tulevaisuudesta (2022)
- Aikuiskasvatus
- Korkeakoulutettujen työllistettävyys epävarmuuksien yhteiskunnassa (2022)
- Tiedepolitiikka
- Opiskelijavalintojen ensikertalaiskiintiöiden poliittinen oikeutus ja kritiikki (2022)
- Kasvatus ja Aika
- Pitääkö maahan muuttanut opiskelija luokitella? (2022)
- Aikuiskasvatus
- Sinnikkään työntekijän ihanne ja haavoittuvuus naisten asiantuntijatyössä (2022) Haavoilla – käsite ja kokemus : Aikuiskasvatuksen näkökulmia rikkoviin elämäntilanteisiin Korhonen Maija, Siivonen Päivi, Isopahkala-Bouret Ulpukka
- The vocational route to higher education in Finland: Students’ backgrounds, choices and study experiences (2022)
- European Educational Research Journal
- "Ura on jonkinlainen menestyksen mitta" – YAMK-tutkinnon suorittaneiden uratoiveiden ja urapolkujen rakentaminen erilaisten uratyyppien viitekehyksessä (2022)
- Ammattikasvatuksen Aikakauskirja
- Uutta luova teoretisointi vahvistaa aikuiskasvatuksen tutkimusta (2022)
- Aikuiskasvatus
- Adult graduates’ employability and mid-career trajectories after graduation with Finnish UAS Master’s degree (2021)
- Journal of Education and Work
- Aikuiskasvatuksella rakennetaan tulevaisuutta koronakriisin jälkeen (2021)
- Aikuiskasvatus
- On a Level Playing Field? The Effect of Parents´ Education on Master´s Degree Graduates´ Labour Market Success in Finland (2021)
- Advances in Applied Sociology