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Students and even young pupils are known to pursue academic success at the expense of their well-being.

Over the past 25 years, perfectionism has become increasingly common among young people all over the world. Student burnout experienced by Finnish youth has increased in recent years, especially in general upper secondary education, but also in vocational education.

There is plenty of research into student motivation and well-being among pupils and students in primary and lower secondary education, general upper secondary education and higher education, but the challenges faced by students in vocational education remain considerably less researched. And this is the knowledge gap Professor Heta Tuominen aims to address in her Academy Research Fellow project, which she continues alongside her professorship.

The project, titled Making the Grade but Feeling Exhausted?, examines young people’s motivation, perfectionism and well-being in secondary-level education. The project also explores the role of student welfare in supporting young people’s learning and well-being.

“In addition to surveys aimed at young people, we are collecting statistical data on student welfare resources in different areas: which and how many services are actually available to young people, can they access these services in their own school or somewhere far away, and whether appointments are available.”

Differences in motivation are associated with well-being

Heta Tuominen’s interest in research addressing children’s and young people’s motivation and well-being sparked more than 20 years ago, when she was starting her academic career. She believes that studying these topics, and especially how they are associated with one another, is very important.

Student burnout and other risks to well-being do not affect all young people. Research has shown that individual differences in motivation are associated with young people’s well-being.

Highly motivated students can be divided into two groups. Mastery-oriented students are enthusiastic about learning, perform well in their studies and experience a high level of well-being. Success-oriented students also perform well in their studies and invest in them, but their focus is more on performance than learning.

Studies are particularly exhausting for students whose pursuit of success is characterised by comparing their performance to that of others.

“As soon as the focus shifts to performance, negative effects on well-being arise.”

Heta Tuominen has also used perfectionistic profiles to study young people’s well-being in their studies. Perfectionism can have both pros and cons, as it involves setting high standards, but also concerns about, and dissatisfaction with, one’s performance. 

Research has identified four different perfectionistic profiles in both general upper secondary students and university students: ambitious students have high strivings and few concerns, perfectionists have high strivings and many concerns, non-perfectionists have low strivings and few concerns, and concerned students have moderately low strivings yet many concerns.

“Our studies have found that concerned students constitute the largest group in general upper secondary education. More than 30% of students in general upper secondary education belong to this group, and that is quite alarming.”

Research on this topic enhances teachers’ understanding of the phenomenon, encouraging them to consider what could be done differently in their own learning environments to avoid an overemphasis on performance and fixating on mistakes. Heta Tuominen, too, considers these themes of well-being in her own teaching, and how she can support her students.

“I try to emphasise to my students that all achievements are worth celebrating. For many students, writing their Master’s thesis, for example, is a major mental process with its ups and downs and feelings of anxiety. It is important to share these feelings in seminars and celebrate all completed theses.”

Collaboration and networking are an essential part of researcher training

Heta Tuominen also supervises doctoral researchers, and researcher training is a topic she is excited about. For her, it is important to be genuinely present and involved in the article writing process, instead of just commenting on them a few times a year.

“I believe it is in everyone’s best interest. By working together, we end up writing far better scientific articles while also genuinely training doctoral researchers in the research profession. This takes a lot of time, but it is also very rewarding.”

The spirit of collaboration is also present in the MoLeWe research collective, which Heta Tuominen co-founded with Professor Markku Niemivirta and other colleagues. MoLeWe also has its own research group at the 91����.

The collective operates on an entirely voluntary basis and has no funding. It includes researchers from various universities who are at different stages of their academic careers. The purpose of the collective is to provide doctoral researchers with a community to rely on, in addition to their own supervisors. At the same time, they form a network with potential collaborators for future research.

The collective meets online once a week to discuss research and the work of a researcher. The meetings also provide an opportunity to present results or ask for advice on difficult parts of the research process.

“The fact that the collective stays active, and even grows, year after year is truly incredible.”

Besides being involved in the MoLeWe research collective, Heta Tuominen also coordinates the Educational Psychology and Learning Research Special Interest Group of the Finnish Educational Research Association, FERA. It is a broader network for researchers on educational psychology and learning, which meets at events such as the FERA Conference on Education.

“Collaboration and networking are, in my opinion, nowadays essential in the research profession. I have wanted to take responsibility and create networks that foster collaboration.”

It is important to publish scientific articles in Finnish 

As a professor, Heta Tuominen wants to enhance her skills in research leadership and invest in the development of research within her own school and faculty. The School of Applied Educational Science and Teacher Education is naturally teaching-oriented, but she also wants to emphasise the research aspect.

“Teaching is of course important, but I strive for us to publish high-level research and obtain external funding.”

In her role as the Editor-in-Chief of the Kasvatus journal, Tuominen also wants to promote Finnish-language scientific publishing. She feels it is important for scientific articles to be authored in Finland’s domestic languages as well.

“We have many teachers and school principals who would like to keep up with the field’s recent research, but they do not read scientific articles published in international journals.”

Tuominen is involved in all sorts of things and finding a good work-life balance while working remotely is sometimes challenging. However, she notes that free time is important, and for her, the best way to detach from work is through various sports. Spending time with her teenage daughter and friends also brings balance to life.

Her home will remain in Helsinki, but Heta Tuominen has also rented an apartment in Joensuu and plans to spend time regularly on campus throughout the academic year.

HETA TUOMINEN 

Professor of Educational Sciences, 91����, 1 May 2025 –

• Doctor of Education, 2012, University of Helsinki
• Master of Education, 2002, University of Helsinki
• Title of Docent (educational science, especially research on student motivation and well-being), 2020, 91����
• Title of Docent (educational psychology), 2023, University of Helsinki 

KEY ROLES

• Academy Research Fellow, 2022–, 91����
• Collegium Researcher, 2019–2021, University of Turku
• University Lecturer, 2018–2019, 2022, University of Helsinki
• Academy of Finland Postdoctoral Researcher, 2015–2018, University of Helsinki
• Postdoctoral Researcher, 2015, University of Helsinki
• Postdoctoral Researcher, 2013–2014, University of Helsinki

• Coordinator of the Educational Psychology and Learning Research Special Interest Group of the Finnish Educational Research Association, FERA, 2019–
• Editor-in-Chief of the Kasvatus journal, 2024–