Airi Hakkarainen

Airi Hakkarainen

Senior Lecturer
Unit
Faculty of Education and Psychology
Department / Division
Department of Education
Room number
RUU A233.1
Postal address
Alvar Aallon katu 9

Biography

I work as a senior lecturer in special education at the Department of Education. I have extensive teaching experience both at the university level and in the field. As a senior lecturer, I teach e.g. the following courses:

  • Thesis seminars and supervision of both bachelor's and master's theses
  • Courses in intermediate and advanced studies in special education (e.g., Assessment and support of mathematical skills, Evidence-based support in learning disabilities)
  • Supervision of Practicum: Planning, implementing and developing interventions

Research interests

My main research topic is the development of mathematical skills and learning difficulties related including comorbidity of learning difficulties. I have conducted both cross-sectional and follow-up studies of mathematical and comorbid learning difficulties and their consequences on later educational pathways among both children and adolescents. I have been involved in the development of new screening tools for teachers and researchers to identify mathematical learning difficulties. I use quantitative methods (incl. structural equation modeling).

Lately, my research interest is more and more in intervention research (RTI) as it is central in understanding how to prevent learning difficulties from developing. In addition, development of mathematical thinking skills, more specifically algebraic thinking skills, and mathematical concepts has become important part of my research.

Publications