NU research team develops test on inclusive education

DIMAPUR, NOV 9 (NPN): Researchers from Nagaland University (NU) have developed and pilot-tested a 50-item achievement test to assess prospective teachers’ understanding of inclusive education and support more effective teacher preparation.
The study addresses a gap in teacher education assessment. While existing tools often focus on teachers’ attitudes and confidence, few measure their knowledge of inclusive education concepts, practices and policies.
It is relevant to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which envisages inclusive classrooms where children of all abilities learn together.
The findings were published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science. The paper was co-authored by Aseto Iralu Meyase, research scholar, and Prof. Gyanendra Nath Tiwari of NU’s department of teacher education.
Vice-chancellor Prof. Jagadish K. Patnaik welcomed the research, saying the tool addressed an important need in assessing prospective teachers’ understanding of inclusive education. He said it could strengthen B.Ed. programmes, particularly in Nagaland and the North-Eastern region.
The test was developed around NU’s B.Ed. Course-10, “Creating an Inclusive School”. It covers five areas: special needs, education policies and provisions, inclusive classroom practices, support networks and related concepts. Questions assess different levels of thinking.
Prof. Tiwari said the researchers initially developed 60 questions, which were reviewed and administered to 42 M.Ed. students at the university’s Kohima Campus. Each question was assessed for difficulty and ability to distinguish between stronger and weaker performers.
Meyase said 10 questions that did not perform well were removed, leaving a 50-item test. Its internal consistency, measured through Cronbach’s alpha, improved from 0.641 to 0.727. She said further testing was needed among larger and more diverse groups of trainee teachers.
The findings showed that questions requiring application and analysis performed better, suggesting that assessing how prospective teachers use knowledge may be more useful than testing recall alone.
The researchers said improved teacher preparation could contribute to more inclusive classrooms. However, the study does not establish whether higher test scores translate into better teaching or improved student outcomes.
The study is relevant to Nagaland, where NU is the only institution offering the M.Ed. programme, according to the researchers. They said a locally relevant tool could help evaluate how effectively future teachers are prepared for inclusive classrooms.
The researchers stressed that the test remains a pilot tool requiring further validation through trials across teacher education colleges in Nagaland. The approach could be adapted by other North-Eastern states to suit their curricula and local contexts.