Master’s Degree Awarded to Ms. Rasha Al-Jahdari in Physical Education

Ms. Rasha Omar Ahmed Al-Jahdari was awarded a Master’s degree in Physical Education for her thesis titled “Obstacles to the Training and Competition Process for People with Disabilities in the Republic of Yemen and Proposed Solutions“, which was submitted to Department of Physical Education at Faculty of Physical Education – Sana’a University. The defense was held on Thursday, September 25, 2025, corresponding to Rabi’ al-Thani 3, 1447 Hijri.

The MA Viva-voce Committee, which was formed based on a resolution issued by the Post-Graduate Studies and Scientific Research Council, consisted of the following members:

The thesis aimed to identify the obstacles to the training and competition process for People with Disabilities (PwDs) in the Republic of Yemen and to propose suitable solutions.

The thesis reached several key findings, including:

• All categories of obstacles were found to have a “High” level of impact. School-Educational obstacles ranked first as the biggest barrier (with an arithmetic mean of 4.23). The most significant was the “lack of appropriate sports systems and activities in schools.”
• Administrative and Financial obstacles followed in the second rank (mean 4.08). The most impactful of these were the “absence of a dedicated budget for external participation” and the “low salaries of coaches.”
• Obstacles related to the Family and Community were in the third rank (mean 3.91), followed by the Professional obstacles for Coaches in the fourth rank (mean 3.85), the most prominent of which was the “lack of specialized training courses for coaches.”
• Statistically significant differences were found in the perception of School-Educational obstacles attributable to the variables of gender (in favor of males) and age (in favour of the 41-60 age group). No statistically significant differences were found based on academic qualification or type of disability.

The researcher’s thesis recommended the necessity of:

• Educational authorities developing inclusive sports activities in schools.
• Governmental bodies approving fixed budgets to support sports for people with disabilities and qualifying training cadres.
• Enhancing community partnership to support this vital group.

The thesis was examined and recommended by the Viva-Voce Committee for acceptance and approval. The defense was attended by a number of academics, researchers, interested individuals, in addition to the candidate’s colleagues and family members.