Mohammed Elmeski

Professional appointment: Assistant Professor, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University Mohammed V, Rabat, Morocco

Professional profile: Dr. Mohammed Elmeski is a scholar of educational leadership, governance, and teacher development, with extensive experience across higher education, international education research, and comparative education systems. He currently serves Assistant Professor in the Department of Pedagogical Innovation and Management of Education and Training Systems. He is a teacher, researcher, international development professional, and senior policy advisor with extensive experience in systems transformation and program evaluation.

He previously held academic appointments at Arizona State University and the University of Minnesota and served in senior research roles at the American Institutes for Research. His academic and professional work spans multiple regions, including North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Central America, and North America, with a particular focus on leadership in complex, reform-oriented, and resource-constrained education systems.

Areas of scholarship:

• Educational leadership and governance

• Teacher leadership and professional collaboration

• Social-emotional learning and teacher development

• School improvement and system-level reform

• Parent–school–community relationships

• Belonging, equity, and leadership in comparative contexts

Teaching foci:

• Educational leadership and administration

• Teacher preparation and social emotional learning

• Comparative and international education

• Research design, methods, and program evaluation

Selected publications:

Bentahar, A., Elmeski, M., & Pentón Herrera, L. J. (2025). Moroccan EFL teachers’ experiences with the 2023 Al-Haouz earthquake. Elt Journal, ccaf057.  https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccaf057 

Romiti, S., Florek, A., & Elmeski, M. (2025). Enhancing collaboration between school professionals and local communities. Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 10(3), 253-259. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-07-2025-181

Arar, K., Turan, S., Elmeski, M., & İşcan, S. (Eds.). (2025). Educational Policy, Reforms, and Change in the Middle East and North Africa: Towards Social Justice, Equity, and Political Inclusion. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003599432

Arar, K., Turan, S., Elmeski, M., & İşcan, S. (2025). Educational Policy, Reforms, and Change in the Middle East and North Africa/Editorial Introduction. In Educational Policy, Reforms, and Change in the Middle East and North Africa (pp. 1-16). Routledge.

Elmeski, M., Russell, A., & Crawford, P. (2025). Strengthening teacher retention in the Federated States of Micronesia: The perspectives of special education teachers.  In INTED2025 Proceedings (pp. 5270-5274). IATED.

Elmeski, M., & Bentahar, A. (2024). Exploring the integration of social-emotional learning in EFL pre-service teacher preparation in Morocco: A mixed-method study. Anglica: An International Journal of English Studies, 33(1), 125–150.

Webber, C. F., Andrews, D., van der Vyver, C. P., Pineda-Báez, C., Okoko, J. M., Eisneros-Cohernour, E. J., Dominguez-Castillo, J. G., Elmeski, M., Fuller, M. P., Conway, J. M., Moral-Santaella, C., Gratacós, G., & Idelcadi, S. (2024). School leadership roles and standards: Observations from the International Study of Teacher Leadership. Background paper for the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report 2024–2025. https://doi.org/10.54676/KIIJ3990

Elmeski, M. (2023). Educational leadership and administration in Morocco: Recent developments and growth prospects. Demystifying educational leadership and Administration in the Middle East and North Africa, 75-94.

Bentahar, A., Elmeski, M., & Hassim, M. (2023). Moroccan teachers' perceptions of EFL instruction in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned. In Research on English Language Teaching and Learning in the Middle East and North Africa (pp. 49-63). Routledge.

Elmeski, M., Laouni, N., & Biqiche, A. (2023). Systems of support for teachers’ collaboration and leadership: EFL teachers’ experience in Morocco. In C. F. Webber (Ed.), Teacher Leadership in International Contexts. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-25763-6_6

Elmeski, M. (2021). Systems thinking and educational leadership: Implications for school improvement in development contexts. Journal of Educational Administration, 59(1), 132–137. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-02-2021-249

Degrees:

PhD, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

MA, Saint Cloud State University, Minnesota, USA.

BA, Ibn Zohr University, Agadir, Morocco.

Email address: elmeskimohammed@gmail.com 

ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7852-2931