A Study on Curriculum Fidelity of Prospective Teachers in Relation to Their Gender and Academic Stream

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the factors affecting the curriculum fidelity of prospective teachers in relation to their gender and academic stream. The survey study and quantitative research design was opted for the present study. The objective of the study was to assess the influence of gender on curriculum fidelity of prospective teachers, and to assess the influence of academic stream on curriculum fidelity of prospective teachers. The study was conducted on a sample of 60 prospective teachers enrolled in the Faculty of Education at ICFAI University, Tripura, during the academic year 2025–2026. The participants were selected using the purposive sampling technique, ensuring that the sample was appropriate for the objectives of the study. The data of the study were obtained through an Inventory of Curriculum Fidelity of prospective teachers. Developed and Standardized by Sumanya Debbarma, Dr. Priyank Kumar Shivam & Dr. Priyank K M. The research data were analyzed using the Descriptive Statistics (Mean, Median, SD, Skewness, Kurtosis); Assumption Analysis (Normality analysis, Test or on for homogeneity variance); Testing of Hypothesis (Mann Whitney U test and One-way ANOVA). 

The major findings of the study are there is no significant influence of gender on the curriculum fidelity of prospective teachers, as indicated by the Mann-Whitney U test (U = 363, p = 0.567 > 0.05). Mean scores were similar between females (154) and males (155), and there is a significant influence of academic stream on the curriculum fidelity of prospective teachers, as indicated by Welch's one-way ANOVA (F = 4.15, df1 = 2, df2 = 29.4, p = 0.026 < 0.05). Prospective teachers from the Science stream had the highest mean score (164), followed by Social Science (155) and Language (150).