Nidal Al Haj Sleiman is the Kuwait Research Officer at the LSE Middle East Centre and a part of the Kuwait Programme. Nidal works under the guidance of Professor Toby Dodge and focuses on  education policy in Kuwait and the wider Gulf Region.

Nidal is a sociologist of education, leadership, policy and international education. Her work generally draws on theories of social and cultural justice, critical pedagogy and education development particularly in the context of the Gulf and West Asia, including Qatar, Iraq and Lebanon. In addition, her work tackles issues related to school improvement, leadership development, teaching and learning and equity in education. Her publications broadly address the questions of international education in the Gulf, the sociology of class and identity, the political economy of education and the impact of conflict on social and educational development in the region. Nidal is also a co-founder of the SWANA Forum for Social Justice, a UCL alumni- and student-led community, and a member of SAIL initiative for public education policy advocacy in Beirut, Lebanon. Prior to her research, Nidal worked as teacher and school leader in Lebanon and Qatar, in public and international education settings.

 Nidal has a PhD from UCL’s Institute of Education in the sociology of international education and leadership, a Masters of Education from Walden University, and a Bachelor of Political Science and Public Administration from the American University of Beirut.