The Impact of Using McCarthy’s Model (4 MAT) to Promote the Acquisition of Sharia Concepts in Islamic Education among Ninth Graders in the UAE

This study aims to shed light on McCarthy’s Model (4 MAT) as an alternative teaching methodology tothe traditional practices still used by teachers of Islamic education in UAE. Thus, this study is meant toinvestigate the efficacy of employing (4 MAT) on enhancing the acquisition of Sharia concepts for ninthgraders in Islamic Education in the UAE. The study sample consisted of (56) ninth graders at ShakhboutBin Sultan Secondary School in Al Ain, a government school belonging to the UAE Ministry of Education.The students were divided into two groups: students of the experimental group were taught using (4Mat),whereas those of the control group were taught by using the traditional method. To achieve the study'sobjectives, the researcher developed a test on Sharia Concepts, which was checked for validity andreliability. The main findings of the study are: (1) there were statistically significant differences betweenthe posttest mean scores of the two groups in favor of the experimental group in Sharia concepts, (2)there was a significant positive correlation between students’ achievement in Islamic Education and theacquisition of Sharia concepts for the experimental and the control group; this correlation was greaterfor the experimental group. The study recommends employing (4 MAT) in teaching Islamic Educationsubjects because of its positive effect on the acquisition of Sharia concepts. Received: 31 October 2025 / Accepted: 19 February 2026 / Published: March 2026