Is tutor training worth it? Acknowledging conflicting agenda Michelle Kofod 1 The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia m.kofod@unsw.edu.au Rosanne Quinnell The University of Sydney, currently The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia rquinnel@bio.usyd.edu.au; rosanne.q@unsw.edu.au Will Rifkin The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia willrifkin@unsw.edu.au Noel Whitaker The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia n.whitaker@unsw.edu.au 1 The authors are listed in alphabetical order as equal contribution to the research was made by each. Our data supports the assertion that a tutor training program can successfully engage our “future colleagues” in reflecting on their teaching and shift their practices to a student- centred perspective. However, many sessional staff either do not undertake such training or do not complete it. We suspect that this lack of participation is caused by a raft of pressures and agenda in the career paths of the postgraduate students, many of whom serve as our sessional staff. Understanding the factors that are impeding participation is critical in creating a positive shift in attitudes with respect to teaching and learning practices not only among the trainees but within our discipline culture -- science. Reflecting critically on the institutional climate and our objective to change the way that science academics view teaching and learning has left us with serious questions about the value of what we are doing in this training program. Keywords: sessional staff, professional development, science, conceptions of teaching Introduction Acknowledging the level and quality of training of sessional staff is not new. Sutherland (2002), for example, conducted an extensive audit of sessional teaching staff at Victoria University (NZ). Her findings revealed that many of the sessional staff were unqualified and unsupported thus highlighting the real need for staff training. In 2003, a report by the Australian Universities Teaching Committee (AUTC) demonstrated that sessional staff received only rudimentary training for their appointments. Since 2004, our team in the Faculty of Science at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have developed,