Professor Antti Saari investigates power dynamics in education

What are your main research interests?

My research focuses on how educational experts exercise power over the education system, both in the present and in the past. This work brings together historical, sociological and philosophical perspectives on education. For example, I examine how research findings on learning, educational technology and learning environments become intertwined with education policy as well as with the interactions that take place within learning environments.

What makes your research significant?

It is important to recognise the expert knowledge that has shaped the foundations of Finland’s current education system and to identify those whose views have influenced this process. 

Experts do not operate in a vacuum: their solutions, concepts and approaches reflect the values, epistemological assumptions and interests of their time. Research that explores the power of experts through a historical lens offers insight into why certain educational structures and practices have come to appear self‑evident and seemingly without alternatives, while also uncovering the epistemological beliefs that have been pushed to the margins. A historical perspective helps us to see that things could also be done differently. 

By examining the influence of experts, we can expose blind spots in prevailing educational knowledge and thought and identify alternative epistemic and practical approaches for education. This is important for managing an education system that emphasises openness, value pluralism and democratic principles.

Where do you draw inspiration for your work as a professor?

I am inspired by encounters and discussions with researchers across different fields. Their theoretical perspectives enable me to see familiar phenomena from entirely new angles and to question the obvious. 

The arts, including visual arts, literature and cinema, also open up unexpected new perspectives on research. Every now and then, even a simple change of scenery – working in a café, park or library – can provide a welcome spark of inspiration. 

What would you want to study next and why? 

My next research project delves into the history of school buildings in Finland. This project, funded by the Kone Foundation, studies how the past continues to exert a subtle influence on the design, construction and use of these buildings.

What do you do in your free time? 

I spend time with my family and friends. My hobbies include Zen meditation, jogging and literature.