1. Lagestad, P., Makrooni, G., Mohammed, W. A., & Kalari, J. (2024, November). The use of autonomy among physical education teachers in Finland and Kurdistan region of Iraq. Frontiers in Education, 9, Article 1425189. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1425189

2. Makrooni, G., Kalari, J., Mohammed, W. A., & Lagestad, P. (2025). Teachers’ perceptions and experiences of gender in physical education across diverse cultural contexts. Frontiers in Education, 10, Article 1566231. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1566231

3. Mohammed, A. Q., Mohammed, W. A., & Saleh, I. M. (2023). The influence of demographic factors on the attitudes dispositions of secondary school students toward physical activity. Journal of Physical Education, 35(2), 503–516. https://jcope.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/jcope/article/view/1410

4. Mohammed, A. W., Poomsalood, S., & Shroll-Lee, N. (2021). Addressing the effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based approaches in sport injury: A systematic review. Al-Rafedain Journal for Sports Sciences, No. 1277.

5. Mohammed, W. A. (2018). Integrating mindfulness meditation into sport therapy (Doctoral dissertation). University of Kent.

6. Mohammed, W. A. (2022). A qualitative exploration of the absence of sport psychologists in sport clubs: The coaches' perspective. Humanities Journal of University of Zakho, 10(1), 233–240. https://doi.org/10.26436/hjuoz.2022.10.1.829

7. Mohammed, W. A., Amin, C. K., Salih, B. A., & Saleh, H. M. (2024). The impact of PE teachers' attitudes on high school students' motivation and lesson engagement. Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 7(2), 498–505. https://doi.org/10.14500/kujhss.v7n2y2024.pp498-505

8. Mohammed, W. A., Kalari, J., Makrooni, G., & Lagestad, P. (2025). Teachers’ perceptions related to structural influences in physical education: A comparative study of Finland and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Frontiers in Education, 10, Article 1476290. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1476290

9. Mohammed, W. A., Pappous, A., & Sharma, D. (2018). Effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in increasing pain tolerance and improving the mental health of injured athletes. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 722. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00722

10. Mohammed, W. A., Pappous, A., Muthumayandi, K., & Sharma, D. (2018). The effect of mindfulness meditation on therapists’ body-awareness and burnout in different forms of practice. European Journal of Physiotherapy, 20(4), 213–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/21679169.2018.1452980

11. Moustakas, L., Raub, V., Petry, K., Wagner, J., Broermann, M., Alfindi, J., Al-Barwari, S., Mohammed, T., Qafisheh, B., Mohammed, W. A., & Aldoski, D. (2025). Sport for development and psychosocial wellbeing in displacement settings: A quasi-experimental study from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Current Issues in Sport Science, 10(1), 002. https://doi.org/10.36950/2025.10ciss002

12. Pappous, A., Mohammed, W. A., & Sharma, D. (2020). Physiotherapists’ experiences with a four-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program. European Journal of Physiotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1080/21679169.2020.1745272

13. Pappous, A., Mohammed, W. A., & Sharma, D. (2021). Perceptions of injured athletes after eight weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Journal of Psychological Research, 3(2). https://dx.doi.org/10.30564/jpr.v3i2.3130

14. Salih, B. A., Yousef, M. H., & Mohammed, W. A. (n.d.). Developing and validating standard levels of psychological barriers in football players. Journal of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, 15(3), 160–175.

15. Yousif, S. O., Mohammed, W. A., & Taher, H. A. (2022). The impact of using the competitive learning team style with homogeneous and heterogeneous groups on some types of handball shooting skill achievement and the trend toward it. Journal of Physical Education, 34(4), 621–633. https://doi.org/10.37359/JOPE.V34(4)2022.1386

16. Kalari, J., Mohammed, W. A., Makrooni, G., & Lagestad, P. (2025). The Role of Sport in Physical Education in Finland and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq—Primary School Teachers’ Reflections. Education Sciences, 15(7), 919. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15070919

17. Mohammed, W., & Asmer, M. (2011). Effect of Learning Program by Using Mental Imaginary in Learning and Retention Some Skills for Female- Futsal in sport Institute. Al-Rafidain Journal For Sport Sciences, 17(56), 165–184. https://doi.org/10.33899/rajsport.2011.6134

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I am a sport and exercise psychologist with a research focus on the integration of psychological techniques, particularly mindfulness meditation into sports training and recovery. My academic and professional journey reflects a commitment to enhancing athletic performance, psychological well-being, and inclusive sport education through empirical research and international collaboration.

- Lecturer / Associate Professor, University of Duhok (2010–present)
- Teaching Experience:
• Sport Psychology (Undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD levels)
• Sport Management
• Football Coaching & Theory
• Debate and Argumentation in Education

Lead Researcher – “Physical Education and Climate Change” (2025–present), With Nord University (Norway), Tampere University (Finland), and University of Duhok.

1. Research on PE Curriculum in Kurdistan and Finland (2021–2024), Completed project with 4 studies (all published).
2. “Sport for Development” Project, GIZ (Germany), focusing on refugee children's mental health and well-being (2020–2022) with published study in Current issues in sport sciences journal 2025.

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