The Islamic University- Gaza Deanery of Higher Education Faculty of ...

knowledge and skills; they need time to observe, analyze, reflect, modify and evaluate.According to Garet et al., (2001, p. 933 cited in Ingvarson et al., 2005, p. 17) “INSET islikely to be of higher quality if it is sustained over time “. However, how much time andhow many contact hours are needed to guarantee deep changes and effectiveness is still adebatable issue among these researchers.• ResourcesSeveral lists on high quality INSET declare that plenty of resources are needed to guaranteeeffectiveness. These resources involve the availability of human resources such as trainerswho should be highly qualified, competent and, skillful in varying training methods andmany other attributes. Besides, successful INSET programmes provide a plenty of physicalresources involving, for example, the training centre which should be well-equipped, withmodern facilities as labs, libraries, technological devices, comfortable seating, properheating, and cooling, the availability of transport to and from the training centre and manyother facilities.In short, deeper changes in teachers practices require considerable amounts of time andprovision of sufficient resources, however, how many hours of training programmes areneeded, when these changes can exactly occur and definite evidences of sufficient durationand sufficient resources impact on teachers practices and students achievement are stillissues under investigation within INSET researches today.4. CoherenceCoherent training programmes are those programme tied into a larger plan of trainingpolicies with activities built one upon another. They are not mere isolated activities inisolated training courses and sessions. In addition, coherence as a principle can be inspiredthrough:• Systematic investigation of teachers‟ needs levels and expectations.- 49 -