Abstract
The aim of this study is to identify the dimensions and components of virtual Arabic language education in Iraq. The research method is applicable in terms of its purpose, qualitative in terms of its implementation method, and of content analysis type. The statistical population of this study includes 15 experts and scholars in the field of virtual education, especially Arabic language education. The sampling method in this study is purposive. The research collection tool is semi-structured interviews with experts and scholars, whose validity was confirmed by the triangulation method and its reliability was calculated by the agreement coefficient between the two coding methods as 0.81. Data analysis was carried out using the content analysis method and MAXQDA software. The findings of this study showed that virtual Arabic language education in Iraq had 66 basic codes, 22 organizing codes, and 8 comprehensive codes. In this study, the overarching codes include teacher professional development, student engagement, global trends and technological advances, curriculum and instruction development, stakeholder engagement, continuous improvement and evidence-based practice, digital skills preparation and career readiness, and online learning environment considerations. Finally, a model of dimensions and components of virtual Arabic language education in Iraq was designed.
Extended abstract
Introduction
Arabic language teaching is rooted in the culture, religion, history, literature, and sciences of Iran. Persian language and literature are intertwined with Arabic, and familiarity with Arabic, especially its vocabulary and texts, will affect Persian language learning (Oueslati et al, 2020). Also, teaching Arabic as the language of the Quran enables each individual to directly communicate with the divine book, understand it, and benefit from its guidelines. According to linguists, Arabic is one of the most complete languages ​​in the world, which can well express broad and deep concepts and content in beautiful and short formats (Aouichaty et al, 2024). Important goals of teaching Arabic include familiarizing with the phonetic and grammatical system of the Arabic language to understand religious and Quranic concepts, familiarizing with the morphological and syntactic structure of Arabic sentences, strengthening the ability to read Arabic texts fluently, increasing students' interest in the Arabic language, and encouraging them to use what they have learned correctly (Khairy et al, 2021).
One of the relatively new methods for teaching and learning Arabic is the use of virtual education, and learners can use this method of teaching to learn Arabic audio and video clips through files to get rid of the boredom and fatigue of face-to-face Arabic education (Arifin et al, 2021). The progress and survival of any society depends on the quality and efficiency of technology in the education of that society, and virtual education, given its special and outstanding features, creates a unique and lasting opportunity for teaching and learning (Hwang et al, 2023). Virtual education is essentially the art of using network technology to design, select, develop, and manage the educational process through new methods of integrating content and resources, interactions, increasing educational performance, and optimizing the activities of an educational organization (Hyeon & Oh, 2025). Virtual education has provided the possibility of implementing and defining a new form of learning and education based on the use of information and communication technology; so that the teacher and the student are far and separate from each other, and this method facilitates the distribution of educational content and is not limited to a specific time and place (Carpenter et al, 2022).
Accordingly, and since virtual education has grown significantly in recent years and the role of virtual education in improving the educational situation is clear, the present study was conducted with the aim of identifying the dimensions and components of virtual education of the Arabic language in Iraq. Therefore, the researcher addresses the main question: What are the dimensions and components of virtual education of the Arabic language in Iraq?
Theoretical Framework
Virtual Education
The term virtual education includes a wide range of applications and functions, including non-face-to-face education and electronic libraries (Abbasi Kasani, 2020). E-learning gives people the power to learn outside the physical classroom environment. Distance learning has been common in the world for many years, but combining this type of education with the Internet has led to the invention of a new teaching method called virtual education (Yar Ahmadi et al, 2023).
Shafai & Aliyari (2023) while conducting a study on the challenges and solutions of virtual education in Arabic lessons during the Corona period concluded that; in addition to creating problems for students and their parents, Corona has put a lot of pressure on teachers, especially Arabic teachers, and has affected the quality of education and the way it is taught.
Ghasemi et al, (2023) in a study on the content analysis of researches related to the study of the challenges of Arabic language teaching in the Iranian education system reported that the continuous and ongoing pathology of Arabic language teaching and efforts to solve the challenges in this field play an important role in improving Arabic language teaching in the Iranian education system.
Research Methodology
The research method is applicable in terms of its purpose, qualitative in terms of its implementation method, and of content analysis type. The statistical population of this study includes 15 experts and scholars in the field of virtual education, especially Arabic language education. The sampling method in this study is purposive. The research collection tool is semi-structured interviews with experts and scholars, whose validity was confirmed by the triangulation method and its reliability was calculated by the agreement coefficient between the two coding methods as 0.81.
Research Findings
Data analysis was carried out using the content analysis method and MAXQDA software. The findings of this study showed that virtual Arabic language education in Iraq had 66 basic codes, 22 organizing codes, and 8 comprehensive codes. In this study, the overarching codes include teacher professional development, student engagement, global trends and technological advances, curriculum and instruction development, stakeholder engagement, continuous improvement and evidence-based practice, digital skills preparation and career readiness, and online learning environment considerations. Finally, a model of dimensions and components of virtual Arabic language education in Iraq was designed.
Conclusion
The present study was conducted with the aim of identifying the dimensions and components of virtual Arabic language education in Iraq. The findings of the present study are in some ways consistent with the findings of Shafai & Aliyari (2023), Ghasemi et al, (2023), Yusuf et al, (2023), Yar Ahmadi et al, (2023), Tavakoli Mohamadi & Taheriniya (2022), Zanganeh Enanloo et al, (2022), and Mohammadkhani et al, (2018). Shafai & Aliyari (2023) concluded that in addition to creating problems for students and their parents, Corona has put a lot of pressure on teachers, especially Arabic teachers, and has affected the quality of education and its teaching method.
Considering the results obtained, the following suggestion is made:
Parents should be aware of their children's virtual education environment and how it is conducted and use the available facilities to support their learning process. Parents can help teachers and students by creating a conducive environment at home, encouraging participation in educational activities, and monitoring their child's academic progress.