The stars, compass, and anchor: how relationships shape first-year students’ perception of their access to disciplinary content

This article explores how academic relationships shape first-year university students’ engagement with and perceived access to acquiring disciplinary content knowledge. Drawing on a reflexive thematic analysis of interviews with 25 students across 10 programmes and employing Self-Determination Theory as an analytical lens, the study examines how relationships influence students’ motivation, engagement, and sense of academic belonging. The findings reveal that relationships with lecturers, teaching assistants, and peers both facilitate and constrain the perceived access to disciplinary content. Lecturers often appear as distant stars – highly knowledgeable yet sometimes inaccessible – while teaching assistants act as guiding compasses, helping students navigate academic complexity. Peers function as anchors, providing support and belonging but occasionally reinforcing uncertainty and pressure. The analysis further exposes how the quality of these relationships shapes students’ perceived access to disciplinary knowledge. Dedicated and pedagogically skilled lecturers enhance the perceived access to learning, yet assumptions about prior knowledge or over-familiarity can limit it. Teaching assistants serve effectively as ‘academic translators’ when approachable and supportive, but may become obstacles when their roles are ambiguous or their demeanour distant. Peers foster safety and reflection, though competitive dynamics can generate exclusion and comparison. Interpreted through the psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, the findings highlight relatedness as central to disciplinary learning. The study calls for greater recognition of the relational dimensions of academic integration and the often-overlooked role of teaching assistants in supporting first-year students’ academic development.