Ari Antikainen is Professor of Sociology of Education and Director of the Centre in Socio-Cultural Research on Education at the University of Joensuu, Finland. He is the author and editor of numerous books including Living in a Learning Society: Life Histories, Identities and Education (1996; with J. Houtsonen, H. Huotelin and J. Kauppila) and The International Handbook on the Sociology of Education (2003; with C. A. Torres).