Reframing the 'illegitimate' academic: the critical role of professional development for sessional staff

Sessional staff are commonly excluded from opportunities which can enhance their professional development, despite being responsible for the majority of university teaching. For educators teaching in widening participation or enabling programs, this can create additional separation or feelings of being 'illegitimate'. This article interrupts such deficit approaches by exploring how one innovative, institutional approach to continuous professional development (CPD) supports the transformation of teaching practice and takes seriously the 'problematising' of widening participation alongside the constraints placed on sessional staff. Applying Bacchi's 'What's the problem represented to be' methodology to Sessional staff interviews in a large Australian enabling program reveals how framing of the 'problem' of student success with the discursive institutional binary of equity (social justice) and excellence (neo-liberal) shapes teaching practices and teacher subjectivity. We argue that to enhance teaching quality and ensure all members of the academy feel valued and legitimate CPD opportunities must include all staff.