Islamic Educational Leadership and Its Impact on Arabic Oral Proficiency

Abstract

This study examines how Islamic educational leadership affects Arabic oral proficiency, with particular attention to how students acquire Arabic speech rhythm in Indonesian and Yemeni higher education. The study draws on the prophetic leadership perspective, which is grounded in the conduct of Prophet Muhammad, and on the transformational leadership framework developed by Burns and Bass. Together, these traditions allow leadership to be treated as a pedagogical force that influences oral language learning through role modeling, moral and spiritual guidance, intellectual engagement, and the building of supportive learning environments. The study uses a comparative quantitative design and draws on data from 183 undergraduate students in Indonesia and Yemen. It examines the relationships among leadership practices, the quality of the learning environment, and students' Arabic oral proficiency, with particular attention to fluency, pausing, timing, stress placement, and rhythmic accuracy. The results show that Islamic educational leadership has a significant influence on the quality of the learning environment, which in turn predicts students' oral proficiency. The contextual differences between Indonesia and Yemen also indicate that sociolinguistic and educational settings shape how speech rhythm is acquired. These results suggest that values-based Islamic leadership contributes to Arabic speaking development not only through direct instruction but also through pedagogical conditions that produce measurable gains in oral performance. The study extends Islamic educational leadership theory by clarifying how leadership practices translate into specific language learning outcomes across different Islamic higher education contexts.