Sonja Lutovac

PhD, Associate Professor (Title of Docent)
Senior research fellow
Identity development in pre-service teacher education

Teachers, Teaching and Educational Communities
Faculty of Education and Psychology

Sonja Lutovac has expertise in research on training and professional development of future teachers with a focus on future teachers’ professional identity formation and affect-related issues with respect to teaching mathematics. With a narrative-based theoretical and methodological approach, she attempts to find ways of how teacher educators can best support the process of becoming a teacher. Her research interests extend to the field of university pedagogy and themes such as emotions in higher education, coping with student feedback and supervision. Lutovac's recent research evolved around narrative exploration of failure experiences and the ways in which these define and are defined by one's identity (Narrated failures, 2018-2021, Research Council of Finland).

Currently, she is the Co-PI of the projects ‘Unpacking and redefining changing relationships in teachers' work’ (RELA, 2020-2024, Research Council of Finland) and ‘Pre-service teachers navigate teachers’ changing work and its relationality’ (NAVI, 2022–2025, Eudaimonia Institute, UO).

Researcher information

Research groups

Living Relations research community

Researcher profiles

Scientific merits

Publications

Siira, V., Petäjäniemi, M., Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2024). The role of mind-body bridging-based university psychology course for students’ well-being. Nordic Psychology, 76(1), 97-115. https://doi.org/10.1080/19012276.2022.2159867

Körkkö, M., & Lutovac, S. (2024). Relational perplexities of today’s teachers: social-emotional competence perspective. Teaching Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2023.2298194

Lutovac, S., M. Uitto, V. Keränen, A. Kettunen, and M. A. Flores. (2024). Teachers’ Work Today: Exploring Finnish teachers’ narratives. Teaching and Teacher Education, 173: 104378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2023.104378

Lutovac, S., Hasari, M., & Kaasila, R. (2023). Fixed mindset as a challenge in teaching practice: a pre-service teacher's experiences of received feedback. European Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 11(1), 167-181. https://doi.org/10.30935/scimath/12563

Kettunen, A., Lassila, E.T., Lutovac, S., & Uitto, M. (2023). Becoming a safe adult for pupils: Emotions as part of first-year student teachers' narrative identities told with photographs. European Journal of Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2023.2211730

Kaasila, R., Lutovac, S., & Uitto, M. (2023). Research on teacher educators’ teacher identities: critical interpretative synthesis and future directions. European Journal of Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2023.2181077

Havia, J., Lutovac, S., Komulainen, T., & Kaasila, R. (2023). Preservice Subject Teachers’ Lack of Interest in Their Minor Subject: Is It a Problem? International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 21, 923-941. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-022-10277-3

Väyrynen, K., Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2023). Reflection on peer reviewing as a pedagogical tool in higher education, 24(2), 291-303. Active Learning in Higher Education. https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/JBPQQRFFKPAZQ4GZWPCW/full

Tiainen, O., & Lutovac, S. (2022). Examining peer group mentoring in teaching practicum and its impact on the process of pre-service teachers’ joint reflection. European Journal of Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2022.2122807

Lutovac, S., Kaasila, R., Petäjäniemi, M., & Siira, V. (2022). How does Mind-Body Bridging Support Professional Identity Development? International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10775-022-09552-0

Pellikka, P., Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2022). The change in pre-service primary teachers’ possible selves in relation to science teaching. European Journal of Teacher Education, 45(1), 43-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1803270

Lutovac, S., & Flores, M.A. (2022). Conceptions of assessment in pre-service teachers’ narratives of students’ failure, 52(1), 55-71. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2021.1935736

Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2022). Towards conceptualising failure in mathematics as an autobiographical experience. European Journal of Teacher Education, 45(5), 689-709. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2021.1892070

Holappa, A., Lassila, E. T., Lutovac, S., & Uitto, M. (2022). Vulnerability as an emotional dimension in student teachers’ narrative identities told with self-portraits. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 66(5), 893-906. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2021.1939144

Kaasila, R., Lutovac, S., Komulainen, J., & Maikkola, M. (2021). From fragmented toward relational academic teacher identity: the role of research-teaching nexus. Higher Education, 82, 583-598. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00670-8

Pellikka, A., Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2021). Relationships between pre-service primary teachers’ beliefs, understandings, and planning of inquiry-based teaching in biology education, 17(3), 311-326. https://doi.org/10.5617/nordina.7854

Lutovac, S., & Flores, M.A. (2021). “Those who fail should not be teachers”: Pre-service Teachers’ Understandings of Failure and Teacher Identity Development. Journal of Education for Teaching, 47(3), 379-394. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2021.1891833

Lutovac, S. (2020). How failure shapes teacher identities: Pre-service elementary school and mathematics teachers’ narrated possible selves. Teaching and Teacher education. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103120

Pellikka, A., Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2020). The change in pre-service elementary teachers’ possible selves in relations to science teaching. European Journal of Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2019.09.006

Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2020). How to select reading for application of pedagogical bibliotherapy? Insights from prospective teachers' identification processes. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 23, 483-498. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10857-019-09437-0

Lutovac, S. (2019). Pre-service mathematics teachers’ narrated failure: stories of resilience. International Journal of Educational Research, 98, 237-244. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2019.09.006

Paradis, A., Lutovac, S., Jokikokko, K., & Kaasila, R. (2019). Towards a relational understanding of teacher autonomy: The role of trust for Canadian and Finnish teachers. Research in Comparative and International Education, 14(3), 394-411. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745499919864252

Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2019). Methodological landscape in research on teacher identity in mathematics education: a review. ZDM Mathematics Education, 51(3), 505-515. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-018-1009-2

Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2018). An elementary teacher's narrative-identity work at two points in time two decades apart. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 98(3), 253-267. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-018-9816-5

Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2018). Future directions in research on mathematics-related teacher identity. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 16(4), 759-776. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-017-9796-4

Pellikka, A., Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2018). The nature of the relation between pre-service teachers’ views of an ideal teacher and their positive memories of biology and geography teachers. NorDiNa – Nordic Studies in Science Education, 14(1), 82-94. https://doi.org/10.5617/nordina.4368

Uitto, M., Lutovac, S., Jokikokko, K., & Kaasila, R. (2018). Recalling life-changing teachers: Positive memories of teacher-student relationships and the emotions involved. International Journal of Educational Research, 87, 47-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2017.11.004

Paradis, A., Lutovac, S., Jokikokko, K., & Kaasila, R. (2018). Canadian and Finnish upper-secondary school mathematics teachers’ perceptions of autonomy. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 26(3), 381-396. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2017.1407957

Lutovac, S., Kaasila, R., Komulainen, J., & Maikkola, M. (2017). University lecturers' emotional responses to and coping with student feedback: a Finnish case study. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 32(2), 235-250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-016-0301-1

Kaakinen, P., Suhonen, M., Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2017). Students’ experiences of peer-support during a Master’s thesis process. Clinical Nursing Studies, 5(1), 22-28. https://doi.org/10.5430/cns.v5n1p22

Torre, D., Procaccianti, G., Fucci, D., Lutovac, S., & Scanniello, G. (2017). On the Presence of Green and Sustainable Software Engineering in Higher Education Curricula. International Workshop on Software Engineering Curricula for Millennials (SECM2017).

Heyd-Metzuyanim, E., Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2016). Identity. In Goldin, G., Hannula, M., Jansen, A., Di Martino, P., Heyd-Metzuyanim, E., Lutovac, S., Kaasila, R., Middleton, J.A., Morselli, F., Pantziara, M., &Zhang, Q.M. Attitudes, Beliefs, Motivation and Identity in Mathematics Education: An Overview of the Field and Future Directions (ICME-13 Topical Surveys) (pp. 16-18). Springer.

Kaasila, R., & Lutovac, S. (2015). Developing research relationship toward a learning partnership. Scandinavian Journal of Educational research, 59(2), 177-194. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2014.904415

Lutovac, S., Kaasila, R., & Juuso, H. (2015). Video-stimulated recall as a facilitator of a pre-service teacher’s reflection on teaching and post-teaching supervision discussion—A case study from Finland. Journal of Education and Learning, 4(3), 14-24.

Kaasila, R., Lutovac, S., & Juuso, H. (2015). Changing a pre-service teacher's beliefs about mathematics teaching through recursive use of video stimulated recall. In P. Hästö & H. Silfverberg (Eds.) Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of Mathematics and Science Education Research Council (pp. 35-46). Matematiikan ja luonnontieteiden opetuksen tutkimusseuran julkaisuja.

Paradis, A., Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2015). A Canadian teacher’s perceived autonomy and self-confidence in the midst of an educational reform. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 66, 42-53.

Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2014). Pre-service teachers’ future-oriented mathematical identity work. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 85(1), 129–142. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10649-013-9500-8

Kaasila, R., Lutovac, S., & Lauriala, A. (2014). The meaning of teaching practice in developing research-based teacher education in mathematics education context in Finland. In J. Calvo de Mora & K. Wood (Eds.), Practical knowledge in teacher education – Approaches to teacher internship programs (pp. 31-43). London: Routledge.

Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2012). Dialogue between past and future mathematical identities. Nordic Studies in Mathematics Education, 17(3-4), 125-139.

Kaasila, R., & Lutovac, S. (2012). Shared scientific benefits for the mentor and the mentee: a self-study of doctoral student supervision in international, collaborative context. In K. Määttä (Ed.), Obsessed with the Doctoral Theses What is the Supervision and Support the Doctorates Tell to Need in the Phases of Dissertation Process? (pp. 109–116). Rotterdam: SensePublishers.

Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2011). Beginning a pre-service teacher’s mathematical identity work through narrative rehabilitation and bibliotherapy. Teaching in Higher Education, 16(2), 225-236. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2010.515025

Kaasila, R., & Lutovac, S. (2011). Developing Doctoral Student Mentoring through Narrative Teaching Strategies. In J.P. Henderson and A.D. Lawrence (Eds.), Teaching Strategies (pp.203-218). New York: Nova Science Publisher.

Lutovac, S., & Kaasila, R. (2010). How to apply the process of emplotment using the narrative approach in mathematics education. Didactica Slovenica, 25(3-4), 92-109.

Lutovac, S. (2008). Prevalence of division model and its implementation in mathematical textbooks. Methodological Horizons, 3(5), 31-47.

Contact information

E-mail

Sonja.Lutovac@oulu.fi

Visiting address

P.O. Box 2000, 90014 University of Oulu

Postal address

sonja.lutovac(at)oulu.fi

Keywords

Educational sciences Education, teaching, learning narrative research teacher education teachers and teaching

Sonja Lutovac

Researcher information

Research groups

Researcher profiles

Scientific merits

Publications

Contact information

E-mail

Visiting address

Postal address

Keywords

Projects

Unpacking and Redefining Changing Relationships in Teachers’ Work

Pre-service Teachers Navigate Teachers’ Changing Work and Its Relationality (NAVI)

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