An investigation of sessional staff support, development, and psychosocial wellbeing in Australian universities

Sessional academic staff form most of the teaching staff cohort in Australian universities. The available literature supports that this important staff cohort often experience precarious and insecure work, restricted access to training, support and development, and limited opportunities for career progression (compared to their colleagues in on-going positions). This national embedded mixed methods study explored the perceptions of sessional academic staff regarding support, development, and psychosocial wellbeing in Australian Universities. To complement the semi-structured interviews, sessional staff completed an online questionnaire. Our findings highlight that due to negative sessional academic work conditions, sessional staff have poor career progression and psychosocial wellbeing outcomes in the long-term.

Automated summary

Sessional academic staff, who form the majority of teaching staff in Australian universities, often face precarious work conditions, limited access to training and development, and limited opportunities for career progression. This study, using mixed methods, explores the perceptions of sessional staff in Australian universities regarding support, development, and psychosocial wellbeing. The findings indicate that due to negative work conditions, sessional staff experience poor career progression and psychosocial wellbeing outcomes in the long term.