Mari Pienimäki

I have a Title of Docent in Contemporary Culture. I am primarily a youth and media (education) researcher.

As a researcher, I am broadly interested in the topical phenomena, multi-layered challenges, and future of contemporary culture and society. I approach my research topics from an multidisciplinary perspective and from viewpoints that are reformative/critical and value-based,  such as those that value diversity.

I primarily study young people and with them.

Research / Expertise Areas:

• The newest research area is social environmental science. Key concepts: sustainable development, relationship with nature, environmental citizenship. 
• Participation research. Key concepts: participation, agency, influencing, empowerment, inclusion online and offline. 
• Media studies. Key concepts: media education, media literacy, social media, media publicity. 
• Educational science and specific areas of education/literacy, such as multiliteracy, media education / media literacy, adventure education, environmental education, visual literacy, art education. 
• Visual culture studies. Key concepts: visual literacy (photographs), photojournalism, participatory photography, so-called empowering photography. 
• Other topics: creativity, well-being, resilience. 
• My interests for future research include, among others, sustainable / feminist economy, postmaterialism, equality/inequality, creative methods / imagination in science, relational-cultural theory, broken world theory.

My expertise is mainly based on qualitative research, especially action research. The main methods of data collection are ethnographic participatory observation, survey and interview research, and so-called co-researching.

My article-based dissertation “The Critical Interpretation of Photographs as Media Literacy and Genre Typologisation as a Tool for Its Development” (2013, in Finnish) is one of the few Finnish works developing the interpretating of photographs and a pioneering work in the field of genre research on photography. The work has been frequently cited in theses as well as scientific articles and books. The dissertation articles have been used as course material in universities. 

I developed the model of "Inclusive Media Education” (IME) (2021) in collaboration with Prof. Sirkku Kotilainen. The model has been used in several master's theses. It has led to a podcast series (SosPed Foundation), a report on the state of inclusive media education in Finland (2021–2022, KAVI/Cupore), and the EU-funded 'Inclusive and Creative Media Education' (ICME) project (2023–2024, KAVI). The European Commission (2022) has highlighted the IME model as evidence that cultural and creative sectors can support the mental health and well-being of young people. 

I co-created a research project titled “NOW! From Anxiety to Youth Environmental Political Agency” mainly with Prof. Päivi Honkatukia. We proposed its core research design to the Finnish National Agency for Education's European Year of Youth 2022 competition as a 'model for involving young people in research and development work.' Our proposal was selected as a finalist.

The Department of Social Sciences at the University of Eastern Finland selected my article (ref.) My article (ref.) Vegenakkeja ja pyöräilyä (engl. transl. "Vegetarian frankfurter and cycling" – a survey on the environmental citizenship of young city-dwellers) (2021) as one of the entrance exam articles for 2023. My co-authors are Maarit Marttila and Marjukka Colliander. The article is listed in the ANGEL network's annual 'Global Education Digest 2022' review  of global education research. The article has been widely cited in Finnish theses and other research." 

I have been a keynote speaker at several domestic seminars. The most recent keynote speech I gave, together with Maarit Marttila, was at the “European Outdoor Adventure Education and Experiential Learning” (EOE) conference in 2023."

Past key topics:

• media literacy
• inclusive media education (IME)  - development of a model for supporting vulnerable youth
• inclusive media culture
• young people's relationship with nature and environmental citizenship
• the pedagogy of multiliteracy
• adventure education
• resilience and wellbeing
• critical interpretation of photographs (dissertation) and participatory photography

Contemporary culture studies, merging especially with youth studies, media studies (especially media education), educational science, social environmental science and/or visual culture studies.

I achieved the title of Docent of Contemporary Culture at the University of Jyväskylä in 2022. I earned my Doctor of Philosophy degree in the same subject and institution in 2013.

I have conducted postdoctoral research for over ten years at the Tampere University. I have served as the responsible investigator-coordinator in two long-term research projects funded by the Kone Foundation, leading research teams of about ten people (Young People in the Limelight/Nuoret Estradille and NOW!/NYT!). I have worked as a postdoctoral researcher in several interdisciplinary research projects and as a university lecturer in media education.

I worked as the Research Manager at the Research Centre for Journalism, Media, and Communication (COMET) at the Tampere University from 2020 to 2021.

Some of the latest publications:

Pienimäki, M. & Marttila, M. (2025) "Outdoor adventure education supporting relational resilience among young people. Finnish action research on nature-based school camps". Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 2025.

Pienimäki, M., Colliander, M. & Honkatukia, P. (2025) “Intergenerational Learning of Eco-Friendly Behaviour in Family Life from the Perspective of Finnish Youth”. In: Repo, K., Tammelin, M. & Eerola, P. (eds.) Families with Children in a Turbulent Era. Elgar.

Marttila, M. & Pienimäki, M. (2024) "Kaupunkilaisnuorten (lähi)luontoon kuuluminen: luonnossa viihtymistä, liikkumista ja lempipaikkoja". Liikunta & Tiede. 

Pienimäki, M.; Marttila, M. & Colliander, M. (2021) "Vegenakkeja ja pyöräilyä" – kyselytutkimus kaupungissa asuvien nuorten ympäristökansalaisuudesta. Nuorisotutkimus.

Pienimäki, M. & Kotilainen, S. (2021) “Media Education for the Inclusion of At-Risk Youth: Shades of Democracy 2.0 from Finland”. In: Hoechsmann, M.; Thésée, G. & Carr, P. R. (eds.) Education for Democracy 2.0: Global Voices for Critical Media Literacy. Boston & Rotterdam: Brill/Sense.

Pienimäki, M. (2020) "Participatory Photography Supporting the Social Inclusion of Migrant Youth". Youth Studies. 

Pienimäki, Mari (2019) “Improving the Wellbeing of At-Risk Youth through Media Participation”. Media Practice and Education, 20:4, 364–377.