IEA is pleased to announce the election of Dr. Aidan Clerkin and Dr. Samah Mohammed Al Ajjawi to the IEA Standing Committee (SC) during the 67th IEA General Assembly meeting held in Warsaw, Poland, between 03 and 08 October 2026.
The IEA SC consists of the IEA Chair and six General Assembly representatives. Acting as the board of directors for both IEA and the IEA Secretariat, the Committee provides leadership and oversight of the organisation’s work.
Dr. Aidan Clerkin and Dr. Samah Mohammed Al Ajjawi will succeed outgoing Standing Committee members Dr. Maria Axelsson and Dr. Michał Sitek. IEA extends its sincere gratitude to Dr. Axelsson and Dr. Sitek for their valuable contributions and unwavering enthusiasm throughout their terms. Their commitment has made an important contribution to the work of the Standing Committee and to IEA as a whole.
Dr. Aidan Clerkin
Dr Aidan Clerkin is a Research Fellow at Ireland’s Educational Research Centre (ERC), a statutory body of the Department of Education and Youth based at Dublin City University. He joined the ERC in 2007 and has almost 20 years’ experience in national and international research, assessment, evaluation, and test development.
He currently oversees Ireland’s participation in TIMSS, having previously served as National Research Coordinator, and has been involved in every Irish TIMSS and PIRLS cycle since 2011. He has served as Ireland’s General Assembly representative since 2022 and has represented Ireland on the PIAAC Board of Participating Countries.
He holds a BSc in Psychology from Queen’s University Belfast and a PhD in Psychology/Education from Dublin City University.
Dr. Samah Mohammed Al Ajjawi
Dr. Samah Mohammed Al Ajjawi is Assistant Undersecretary for Learning, Teaching and Pathways Policy Development at the Ministry of Education in the Kingdom of Bahrain. She is a senior education leader with more than 25 years of experience in educational policy, system reform, institutional leadership, teacher development, educational research, and international large-scale assessments.
She also serves as Bahrain's National Research Coordinator for international large-scale assessments, including TIMSS and PIRLS, where she leads the country's participation and ensures alignment with international standards while supporting data-informed decision-making and educational improvement.
She holds a PhD in Education Policy and Evaluation from Florida State University, a Master of Education in Management and Policy Studies from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, and a Bachelor of Arts in Arabic Literature and Education with High Honors from the University of Bahrain.
Dr. Aidan Clerkin and Dr. Samah Mohammed Al Ajjawi will join current IEA Standing Committee members (see photo from back, left to right): Mr. Josef Basl, Dr. Samah Mohammed Al Ajjawi, Ms. Carmen Tovar Sánchez, Dr Aidan Clerkin, Ms. Carolina Leyton Faúndez, Dr. Abdalla Yousef Awad Al-Ababneh, and Dr. Christian Christrup Kjeldsen.