The core assumption of the model is that improvement in teachers' pedagogical and theoretical understanding of their practice leads to improvement in classroom practice. The model also assumes that improved pedagogical understanding and classroom practice results from teachers reflecting critically on educational theory and practice
The study adopted qualitative and quantitative approaches and sought to establish (a) whether the relationship between teacher understanding and practice occurs as the PBI INSET model predicts it will occur, and (b) the extent to which teachers reflect critically on educational theory and practice
In particular, the study assesses the impact of the two inquiry-based INSET courses on: (a) teachers' understanding, (b) classroom practice, and (c) reflection
Instruments to measure the impact of the two courses on teachers' understanding and classroom practice have been constructed based on the criteria derived from the joint objectives of the two inquiry-based courses. The instrument for measuring the impact of the two courses on teacher reflection in terms of the PBI model has been constructed based on the reflective assessment framework of the two courses
The study's findings weakly support the assumptions made by the PBI model. The findings indicate a moderate correlation between teachers' understanding and classroom practice, a low correlation between teachers' understanding and reflection, and no correlation between classroom practice and reflection