There is freedom in the margins: Higher Education Third Space Research Network
When I first started working in UKHE, I felt I was two different people: one – a PhD student and a budding academic, and the other – a qualified EFL teacher stepping into EAP (English for Academic Purposes) work. And for the next several years, even when I finished my PhD and started working full-time in EAP roles, this feeling prevailed. It was only when I started exploring literature and research on EAP identities that I came across Celia Whitchurch’s work on third space. And suddenly everything clicked into place! I have found a label I could identify with which brought together my two professional personas.
It was an article by Jennifer MacDonald (‘The Margins as Third Space: EAP Teacher Professionalism in Canadian Universities’ 2016) which opened my eyes to the third space literature. I started talking to colleagues about third space and how working within it could be beneficial to the EAP community. Through conference presentations and conversations with colleagues across the sector, I became known as the enthusiast of the third space. And that’s how I joined forces with two colleagues at my university, Dr Maeve O’Dwyer (now at Trinity College Dublin) and Rebecca Sanderson (Lincoln) to launch the HE Third Space Research Network.
Our ideas percolated slowly. We talked and we talked, each of us occupying a slightly different part of the third space: Maeve in teaching and learning development, Rebecca in research, and myself in teaching and leadership. When we approached Celia Whitchurch to float our idea of a network, she was very supportive and offered her patronage. We had our own ideas on the third space and its benefits as well as challenges, but we saw an even bigger benefit in bringing together various colleagues from across HE, in the UK and beyond.
In November 2023 we officially launched the network with an online symposium where a diverse range of third space professionals and researchers discussed their third space ideas. There was a good representation of UK Learning Developers, speaking of the value of LD work in the third space (Ian Johnson and Ed Bickle) and on writing in third space as negotiating one’s identity (Alicja Syska, Carina Buckley and Lyndsay Heggie). There was also a particular focus on career development for third space professionals – Natalia Veles discussed third space career paths, and Avril Buchanan advocated the need for a dynamic university response to cultivate third space scholarship. There were papers from other third space roles within HE too. Matthew Bayly (from my own team) presented a case study on teaching in the third space and the challenges it brings. And Fran McKay argued that HE quality professionals, those working in governance, operate in the third space too. We finished off with a more creative approach to the topic, namely with some blackout poetry – expertly introduced and delivered by Sandra Sinfield, Sandra Abegglan, and Tom Burns. Throughout this online symposium a live discussion was taking place, allowing us all to connect and comment.
The format of our symposium could be described as third space too! We met on Zoom, with colleagues from across UK universities, but also from Canada and Australia. The discussion lived its own life in the Zoom chat. To top it off, we also used Padlet to explore future directions as well as tips on possible publications and collaborations.
On 19 January, we held another event – this time with a guest lecture by Celia Whitchurch herself. In her talk, entitled ‘From “Working in Third Space” to “Third Space Professional” and “Concertina Careers”’, Celia revisited her earlier work and linked it with her more recent research and current projects. It was fantastic to listen to someone whose work brought us all together and gave us ideas to explore, define and advocate for our own pocket within the third space. I was particularly intrigued by Celia’s concept of ‘Concertina Careers’ – how third space professionals develop their careers, depending on the opportunities and roles they have at a given moment. With participants from across the UK and Ireland, but also Canada, South Africa, and Australia, you can imagine that once again the discussion in the chat was very lively.
Working in the third space brings a lot of challenges – in terms of recognition of our work, support for scholarship, and opportunities to progress. But our growing network shows that we are a very diverse bunch and through coming together, we can learn from each other. Third space is not just learning developers or research managers; third space professionals teach and train, do research and publish, and work in policy and HE leadership. There is a need for a network that can embrace us all.
To further our Third Space discussions, share ideas, and encourage collaboration, an HE Third Space Research Jiscmail has been set up – if you’d like to join this mailing list, please email thirdspaceresearch@gmail.com .
[Readers may also be interested in a previously published post by Celia Whitchurch on her recent article which discusses “concertina” careers: New article: Rehabilitating third space professionals in contemporary higher education institutions — Third Space Perspectives - Exploring Integrated Practice]
