Qur’anic Reading Difficulties among Junior High School Students: A Case Study at SMP Tamansiswa Padang

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines the forms of Qur’anic reading difficulty experienced by students at SMP Tamansiswa Padang, the conditions perceived to contribute to these difficulties, and the responses implemented by teachers and the school. Method: A descriptive qualitative approach within a bounded case study design was employed. Participants comprised 13 Grade VII and VIII students who remained at the Iqra’ level, one Islamic Education teacher, two homeroom teachers, and one vice principal for curriculum. Data were collected through non-participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. Trustworthiness was supported through source and method triangulation, while data were analysed using the interactive model of Miles and Huberman. Main findings: Students experienced interrelated difficulties in recognising and pronouncing Arabic letters, reading connected forms fluently, and applying basic tajwid rules, particularly vowel length, ghunnah, ikhfa’, and appropriate pausing. Irregular practice, limited confidence, varying family support, peer activities, and restricted learning resources were perceived as contributing conditions. The school responded through ability-based grouping, individual and small-group guidance, musyafahah, teacher modelling, direct correction, repeated practice, a daily morning religious programme, and communication with parents. Novelty/originality: The study demonstrates that institutionalising daily Qur’anic practice in a general junior high school does not automatically eliminate foundational reading difficulties among adolescent learners. It identifies incomplete decoding and discontinuity of practice as interconnected issues requiring differentiated support. Contribution: The study introduces school-based Qur’anic remedial support as an integrated process connecting diagnostic grouping, explicit oral instruction, regular practice, progress monitoring, and family-school collaboration. The findings provide a contextual basis for developing structured assessment rubrics and longitudinal evaluations without interpreting delayed Qur’anic reading as a clinical disorder for future educational policy development.