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The transition from secondary to tertiary education often presents many first-year female students with anxiety and emotional stress. Subsequently, poorly managing this shift may increase academic risk and compromise their academic success. While a plethora of studies contribute towards the phenomenon of resilience as a positive predictor of the learning experience of female students in higher education, other scholarly findings suggest the key role resilience plays in supporting students to overcome challenges, manage their wellbeing and ultimately acquire epistemic access. Moreover, there is a significantly burgeoning focus on the positive outcomes of the resilience of women in education, However, while many of the studies highlight gender as a noteworthy core construct, to date, little is known about the first-year learning experience (FYE) of female students and how they may negotiate epistemic access through academic resilience. Hence the main aim of this article is to explore what factors enable academic resilience and to what extent such factors influence epistemic access among first-year female students. An exploratory qualitative research approach was used to capture the learning experiences of 20 hospitality accounting first-year female students. Data were collected by conducting both focus group sessions and individual semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study identified four main themes. The findings of this article have implications for promoting gender equality and academic outcomes of first-year female students in understanding the risk factors, as well as encouraging the protective factors that enable their epistemic access.

Positive teacher-student relationships have been identified as important for teacher and student well-being and for high-quality teaching and learning processes and outcomes. However, research on the perceptions of teachers in higher education on a high-quality relationship with students and the perceived antecedents is still scarce. This study aimed to address this research gap by interviewing 15 Australian higher education teachers about their perception of forming relationships with first-year students. The results suggest that the quality of the teacher-student relationship comprises both a professional and an interpersonal dimension, reflecting the different roles teachers and students assume within it. These two dimensions can be further differentiated into various relational quality indicators, such as approachability, care, support, trust, and others. Furthermore, the results indicate that several contextual and personal attributes contribute to the development of this relationship. Implications about how to shape positive relationships between teachers and students in higher education are discussed.

Belonging is critical to first-year student success and persistence in higher education. However, differing definitions make it challenging to fully understand why belonging is significant. Foregrounding student voice, this research explored how first-year Australian university students talked about their belonging. Using Kahu and Nelson's (2018) framework of student engagement as a lens, 18 students were interviewed weekly throughout the year. Students talked about belonging in three distinct but interrelated ways: familiarity, interpersonal belonging, and academic belonging. While all were important for student wellbeing and engagement, academic belonging, students' sense that university, their discipline, and courses were \"right\" for them, was critical for perseverance. Unlike interpersonal belonging which tended to build through the year, academic belonging fluctuated for many students. The findings suggest framing belonging merely as about relationships limits understanding of this important construct. Contributing to scholarship by bringing a refreshed perspective to the nuances and complexity of belonging, the research suggests higher education providers need to monitor and foster academic belonging in first-year students. [Author abstract]

The transition into higher education represents a pivotal stage in the academic journey of first-year students, marked by significant social and academic changes. These adjustments often expose readiness gaps that can impede student success in this new environment. To address these challenges, higher education institutions frequently implement induction programmes designed to prepare students for their new surroundings. This article critically evaluates the induction programme for first-year students at a private higher education institution through a qualitative case study approach within an interpretivist paradigm. The study scrutinises the influence of distributed, servant, and transformational leadership in fostering an effective, collaborative, and adaptable learning environment. Through interviews with six managerial-level participants, the research delves into the complex dynamics of managing these programmes, underscoring the essential role of leadership in enhancing programme efficacy. Key emerging themes include leadership and management strategies, engagement challenges, feedback mechanisms, and programme structure, all of which are crucial in shaping the induction experience for new students.

Teacher-student relationships (TSR) are an important influence on the student experience at university. Existing research, predominantly with lecturers, highlights that these relationships have academic and affective dimensions. Studies demonstrate good TSR increase student motivation, engagement, and learning. The current study adds a student voice to this topic, focussing on their views of tutoring staff, who undertake much of the face-to-face teaching in universities. The qualitative study followed 19 students through their first year at an Australian university. The students identified four characteristics of a 'good' tutor: helpful, caring, likeable, and hands-on. Students talked about multiple benefits of having a good tutor including increased help-seeking, studying harder, more interest in class, and improved well-being and belonging. The importance of the tutor role is underestimated and institutions would do well to better support these valuable staff. [Author abstract]

To date, there is no research or instrument that can collectively measure beginning students' transitional challenges, wellbeing, help-seeking, and adjustments to university. This paper addresses this research gap by theorising and describing the relationship between these constructs and by developing and assessing the psychometric properties of a scale to measure those, labelled as Transition, Wellbeing, Help-seeking, and Adjustments Scale (TWHAS). Data was collected from 306 first year students studying in an Australian university, using a self-reporting questionnaire. The analysis shows that the TWHAS is a sound and psychometrically valid instrument. This questionnaire makes a unique contribution to the students' transition literature in Higher Education. Its implications for universities, along with recommendations for further research, are also briefly discussed.

Strengths-based initiatives for university students to identify and develop their strengths are increasing in popularity in the tertiary sector. An understanding of strengths provides students with greater resilience in their transition in and out of university. While such strengths-based initiatives have been studied among first-year student populations at large universities in the United States, scant research has been conducted on strengths development in the Australian tertiary sector. This mixed methods study evaluates the efficacy of the use of the CliftonStrengths Assessment and targeted strengths workshops on a group of mentors and mentees within a peer mentoring program at a university in Australia. Quantitative analysis indicated increases in strengths awareness. Qualitative analysis also revealed participants could positively view their strengths, identify a plan for future strengths use, and view others and themselves in a new light. This study served as a base for further research into strengths development at Australian universities. [Author abstract]

At the heart of this paper is the idea that student engagement is a complex business. It examines a number of conceptual engagement frameworks that show how this complexity can enhance the first-year experience of students in higher education. Eight propositions emerge from the complexity. Some are present in all conceptual frameworks; others feature only in a few or are implied rather than stated. But each offers some suggestions for teachers and institutions to engage students. Some propositions will look familiar. Chief among these are propositions that offer practical ways to improve engagement in the first year. But other propositions emerge from less well harvested research fields. They emphasise the importance of discipline knowledge, student wellbeing, outside influences on student learning and flexibility in the face of changing student expectations. But overarching the eight propositions is the realisation that so many of the ideas produced by engagement researchers are generic. It is up to teachers and institutions to interpret and shape such ideas for specific and unique contexts, subjects and, most importantly, learners. [Author abstract]

This research explored whether academic self-efficacy calibration (the match between self-efficacy beliefs and academic outcomes) in first-year psychology students (n=197) differed as a function of task type (written assignment/multiple-choice exam), domain specificity (task level/subject level), over time (mid-semester/end of semester) and according to student achievement level (high achievers/low achievers). Lower-achieving students were overconfident across both the written assignment and the exam, while higher-achieving students were accurately calibrated on both tasks. The subject-level calibration of lower-achieving students improved between mid-semester and the end of semester (though students remained overconfident). Higher-achieving students' subject-level calibration remained stable over the semester, and they were about half as overconfident as the lower-achieving students. Both groups of students were more overconfident at subject-level than at task-level overall. On the whole, overconfidence was prevalent, especially for low achievers, and at subject level. Findings suggest that a one- size-fits-all approach to self-efficacy is unlikely to be beneficial for all learners. [Author abstract]

Student engagement in academic activities is a critical factor contributing to the overall success of students studying in higher education institutions. Yet the factors influencing student engagement in academic activities are still largely unknown. This study begins to address this knowledge gap by investigating the influence of student connectedness (relationships with peers and teachers), motivation to study (sense of purpose) and perception of workload upon student engagement in academic activities. During 2015, a total of 209 students responded to a survey distributed to first-year undergraduate students enrolled in a university business school in Queensland, Australia. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the proposed relationships. Results suggest that student-student (peer) relationships, teacher-student relationships, and students' sense of purpose for studying a higher education degree, were central to student engagement in academic activities. In addition, teacher-student relationships, and a strong sense of purpose were central to perceptions of student workloads. Finally, sense of purpose was found to moderate the relationship between both teacher-student and student-student relationships and also, perceptions of workload and student engagement. The findings from this study support the importance of developing effective teacher-student relationships, facilitating positive student-student relationships and communicating a clear sense of purpose to students, so as to improve their engagement in academic activities and optimise perceptions of workloads. (HRK / Abstract übernommen).