Prof Arar's book, School Leadership for Refugees, won Routledge's Choice Outstanding Academic Title award in 2021. In addition to the UCEA honor, Arar has been named to the Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientist Rankings for 2024, marking his second consecutive year on the list.

AERA Division A, Scholarly Excellence Award, 2023

Linda Tillman Social and Racial Justice Award, 2024 UCEA

Presidential Distinctive Scholarly Excellence Award at Texas State University, 2025.​

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The ICSEI/JPCC Innovation Award 2020 in recognition of  Al Tharwa Al Na‘ema: Towards Women’s Leadership Development. The program successfully enhanced women's communication, critical thinking, and civic engagement, and has since inspired similar initiatives across the Arab world.

For more information https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/opinion-and-blog/al-tharwa-al-naema-towards-womens-leadership-development​

2021 Innovation Award – Journal of Professional Capital and Community (JPCC)/  International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI). 

Paul received the award for the study "Reconceptualising Collaboration in the Context of Crisis Response and Systemic Improvement." 

The winning entry emphasizes the concept of collaboration and its connection to addressing educational challenges. It draws upon empirical work in Scotland and the practitioner-researcher’s professional practice in Hong Kong; both societies face a range of constitutional, societal, and health crises directly impacting schools and education.

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