Nagaland University researchers develop 50 item test to assess trainee teachers’ understanding of inclusive education

Researchers at Nagaland University have developed a 50-item achievement test to assess how well trainee teachers understand inclusive education, in a move aimed at identifying gaps in teacher preparation and strengthening classroom practices for children with diverse learning needs.

According to a statement issued on Monday, the test is designed to evaluate prospective teachers’ understanding of the concepts, practices and policies associated with inclusive education. It is expected to help teacher education institutions identify areas where trainee teachers require additional support.

The initiative assumes significance in the context of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasises preparing teachers to create inclusive classrooms where children, irrespective of their abilities, can learn together.

The researchers pointed to a gap in the existing assessment methods used in teacher education, noting that most available tools focus on teachers’ attitudes or confidence in managing classrooms rather than their actual knowledge of inclusive education.

“Few actually measure what future teachers know about education — its concepts, practices and policies. The new test aims to fill that gap. It can help teacher education institutions spot areas where trainee teachers struggle,” the statement said.

The research was conducted by Aseto Iralu Meyase, a research scholar, and Gyanendra Nath Tiwari of the Department of Teacher Education at Nagaland University. Their findings have been published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, an open-access journal covering education, social sciences, economics and management.

The test was developed based on Nagaland University's B.Ed. Course-10, titled Creating an Inclusive School. It covers five areas and includes questions designed to assess different levels of cognitive ability, from recalling information to applying knowledge, analysing situations and evaluating possible solutions.

Explaining the development process, Tiwari said the researchers initially prepared 60 questions, which were reviewed before the test was administered to 42 M.Ed. students at the university's Kohima Campus.

The researchers assessed the difficulty level of each question, its ability to distinguish between students with stronger and weaker performance, and the overall consistency of the test.

Following the analysis, 10 questions that did not meet the required standards were removed, leaving a 50-item assessment tool.

Meyase said the internal consistency of the test, measured using Cronbach's alpha, improved from 0.641 to 0.727 after the removal of the 10 questions, indicating better reliability.

However, the researchers noted that further testing involving larger and more diverse groups of trainee teachers would be necessary to establish the tool's stability and reliability across different settings.

The findings also indicated that questions requiring students to apply and analyse knowledge performed better than those primarily testing recall. This suggests that assessing how prospective teachers use their knowledge could provide a more meaningful understanding of their preparedness for inclusive education.

Nagaland University Vice-Chancellor Jagadish K Patnaik said the research addressed an important gap in teacher preparation and could help strengthen B.Ed. programmes, particularly in Nagaland and the Northeast.

He called on researchers to focus on developing solutions with practical applications, expressing hope that the findings would contribute to improving teacher education, promoting inclusive classroom practices and advancing the objectives of NEP 2020.

The researchers, however, clarified that the study does not establish a direct link between higher scores in the assessment and improved teaching practices or student outcomes. Further research would be required to determine whether better conceptual understanding translates into more effective classroom teaching.

The approach could also be adapted by other Northeastern states to develop assessment tools suited to their respective teacher education curricula and local contexts, the statement added.