Tool developed to test teachers’ knowledge of inclusive education

Researchers at Nagaland University have developed and tested a 50-item achievement test to assess trainee and future teachers' understanding of inclusive education. They said, “The tool is designed to help identify gaps in teachers’ preparation and improve teaching practices for children with learning needs.” The study by Gyanendra Nath Tiwari, a professor at the university’s Department of Teacher Education, and research scholar Aseto Iralu Meyase was published in the peer-reviewed International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science.

The study said most available tools focus on teachers’ attitudes or confidence. However, few 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.

For example, if many students find it hard to understand policies for children with special needs, educators can adjust their teaching to include more information and real-life examples,” the study said. The test was built around the B.Ed.

Course 10, titled ‘Creating an Inclusive School’, at Nagaland University. It covers five areas: special needs, education policies and provisions, inclusive classroom practices, building support networks and related concepts.

The questions test thinking levels: from simple recall to applying knowledge, analysing situations and evaluating possible solutions. “We started with 60 questions. We reviewed them before using them on 42 M.Ed. students at our university’s Kohima Campus.

We looked at how difficult each question was, how well it could distinguish strong and weak performers and how consistent the test was overall,” Prof. Tiwari said. “Based on our analysis, we removed 10 questions that did not work well.

This left us with a 50-item test. The internal consistency of the test, measured by Cronbach’s alpha, went up from 0.641 to 0.727, which means the test is more reliable now,” Mr. Meyase said. The results showed that questions asking students to apply or analyse knowledge performed better.

The researchers said that the tool, tweaked to fit local needs, could be adapted to help prime teachers for inclusive classrooms in Nagaland and elsewhere in the northeastern region.