Integrating Metacognitive Scaffolding in Qiro'ah Mukatsafah: A Mixed-Methods Exploration of Arabic Intensive Reading Comprehension in Indonesian Higher Education
Abstract
This study investigates the integration of metacognitive scaffolding strategies within Qiro'ah Mukatsafah (intensive reading) instruction to enhance Arabic reading comprehension among Indonesian university students. While intensive reading has long been recognized as a foundational approach in Arabic language pedagogy, existing scholarship has insufficiently addressed the cognitive and metacognitive dimensions that mediate reading comprehension outcomes. Employing a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, this research collected quantitative data from 186 undergraduate students across four Indonesian Islamic higher education institutions through pre-test and post-test instruments measuring reading comprehension and metacognitive awareness, complemented by semi-structured interviews with 24 purposively selected participants. The quantitative findings demonstrated statistically significant improvements in reading comprehension scores (t = 7.842, p < .001, Cohen's d = 0.94) following the metacognitive scaffolding intervention embedded within Qiro'ah Mukatsafah instruction. Qualitative data revealed three emergent themes: cognitive restructuring through textual deconstruction, self-regulated monitoring during intensive reading tasks, and socially mediated comprehension through collaborative annotation. The study contributes a theoretically grounded pedagogical framework termed Metacognitive Intensive Reading Architecture (MIRA) that reconceptualizes Qiro'ah Mukatsafah beyond mechanical decoding toward strategic, self-regulated reading engagement. Implications for Arabic language curriculum design in higher education contexts and directions for future research are discussed.
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