
Elina Vaara
Biography
I work as a project researcher and a statistician in Finnish Institute of Educational Research. Statistically I am interested in e.g. SEM methods in longitudinal studies, and attrition in observational studies. Inequality, agency, competence and health behaviors, as well as their associations are of my main interest areas.
Researh area
- Statistical modelling
- Inequality
- Agency
Research Projects
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- International Civic and Citizensip Education Study 2027 (ICCS 2027): Students' civic knowledge, attitudes, and engagement in the global and regional contexts. (2024-2027)
- Organizing Municipal Basic Education in the Future (PETE): Organizing basic education in different municipalities and municipal decisionmaking in Finland in the context of changing and ageing population. (2024-2025)
- "Arabic to us" (2024-). Arabic speakers in high stake finnish language testing. (2024-2025)
- Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS 2023): Assessment of 4th and 8th grade students' mathematics and science competence.
- Emotional Agency at Work (TUNTO2, E-Ag measure). Emotional agency at work and its associations with work-related enactment in organizations. (2024-2025)
- StudyAgent (SA, AUS scale): Student agency in higher education. (2023-2024)
Research interests
My research focuses on understanding inequalities with larger datasets. Aim is to make diversity and systematic differences between people visible utilizing statistics. At the moment I focus on research in 8th grade students equity and attitudes on active citizenship, agency and equal treatment of different language groups. Additionally, I inspect health behaviours, and my earlier research areas include well-being, health- and sportsresearch.