Between the time I started writing about and researching third space practitioners in higher education, something wonderful happened. While the initial searching for literature was a bit of a slog, from the mid 2010s onwards its seemed to explode* and there is now a substantial body of work (both formal and informal) about the identities, roles, practices, skill and work of these people. (*except for educational technologists - seriously, this is a massive gap and the perfect opportunity to carve out a niche). There are also a number of communities worth connecting with and conferences worth exploring. This is not a comprehensive list and the plan is to grow it over time but these are some of the works that have been significant for me.
The OG - Saint Celia
Celia Whitchurch gave the higher education third space a name and raised some vital ideas about the different ways that we work within, between and across domain boundaries. She has been refining and advancing this work since 2006 and remains actively engaged in research in this space. She is also open to new ideas and has been very generous in giving her time to a few 3S related activities that we in the TELedvisors network community have held.
Key works:
Whitchurch, C. (2008). Shifting Identities and Blurring Boundaries: The Emergence of Third Space Professionals in UK Higher Education. Higher Education Quarterly, 62(4), 377–396. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2273.2008.00387.x
This is kind of the big one, introducing four categories for third space professionals (bounded, unbounded, blended and cross-boundary) and highlighting the value of these workers.
Whitchurch, C., & Law, P. (2010). Optimising the Potential of Third Space Professionals: Final Report. Advance HE. https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/optimising-potential-third-space-professionals-final-report
Not cited as often as it should, this report for AdvanceHE (UK) provides important building blocks for a process for rethinking unbalanced relationships between people from different domains (academic and professional in practice) by passing through contestation, reconciliation and reconstruction. (This informed later work by Veles - more on that soon)
Whitchurch, C. (2024). From ‘service’ to ‘partnership’: Harnessing social capital in support of activity in third space environments. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 0(0), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2024.2344132
Explores the working relationships of third space practitioners and academics and options to shift to a more collaborative model.
(Honestly, all of her work brings something to the table though)
Integrated practitioners - McIntosh and Nutt
McIntosh, E., & Nutt, D. (2022). The Impact of the Integrated Practitioner in Higher Education: Studies in Third Space Professionalism. Taylor & Francis Group.
This was perhaps the first significant scholarly book about third space practitioners - written by a diverse range of authors - that I came across while working in this space. While I personally question the term ‘integrated practitioners’ - which I think they have largely let go now anyway - there is some deep thinking in here about theory, ways of working, impact and career trajectories for people in the third space.
McIntosh and Nutt also maintain a useful blog about third space matters which is not always frequently added to but worth a look whenever it is. https://www.thirdspaceperspectives.com/
I wish I could write like - Natalia Veles
Natalia Veles started researching and writing about third space professionals/practitioners around the same time that I did and despite being at opposite ends of the country, we somehow found each other and have enjoyed many rich conversations on the topic. She approaches third space professionals from a different angle to me, with her focus on the career development side but we have found many points of commonality in our respective work and her understanding of the big picture underlying qualities of the third space is almost unsurpassed.
Key works
Veles, N., Graham, C., & Ovaska, C. (2023). University professional staff roles, identities, and spaces of interaction: Systematic review of literature published in 2000–2020. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 0(0), 1–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322969.2023.2193826
This systematic review covers 20 years of 3S related research in forensic and insightful depth. Written with some other 3S notables in Carroll Graham and Claire Ovaska, this journeys across identity, practice and ways of working together, ending with a set of essential practical recommendations that deserve more attention than they get.
Veles, N. (2022). Optimising the Third Space in Higher Education: Case Studies of Intercultural and Cross-Boundary Collaboration. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003259527
While exploring some in depth practical case studies of third space collaborations, Veles picks up Whitchurch’s Contestation/Reconciliation/Reconstruction model and adds a Transformation phase which feels like completion.
As with Whitchurch, any of Natalia’s work is worth reading as part of your 3S education.
Third Space scholarly journals
While we don’t seem to yet have an official scholarly journal addressing all areas of third space research, some certainly seem to have carved out handy niches with either special issues or regular 3S related articles. There are also a number of journals which focus on specific 3S domains like academic development and learning design.
The editors of this journal Joanne Caldwell and Charlotte Verney have both worked in third space roles and there have been several 3S special issues. The current (at time of writing) issue is a special issue on the Emerging identities of third space professionals and it is great to say that I know (or know of) authors on all of the papers.
Another UK based publication, this focuses on people working to support students’ learning/study skills (to put it in criminally simple terms), a vital area of third space work and they often publish work around wider 3S questions. I even got something in there at one point.
As might be expected, this journal (in its 30th year) focuses on academic developers, people who build the teaching capabilities of academics, foster a culture of learning and teaching in institutions and undertake research in the scholarship of teaching and learning.
While not specifically third space focused, this well regarded journal takes a big picture and very practical view of learning and teaching in higher education and has published a number of third space focused articles.
Conference proceedings
More shameless self promotion perhaps as this was an event that I led with my TELedvisors Network colleagues but it is also a significant snapshot of work from a large gathering of contributors sharing a range of views and experiences at a month-long online ‘slowposium’ and in-person symposium about all things third space. This publication may not be double blind peer reviewed but it is highly authentic and features contributions from more than 40 contributors around the world.
The Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education - the host organisation for the TELedvisors Network community that I’m part of - officially focuses on technology enhanced learning but in the last decade or so, it has become a home for many in the third space community. This has been reflected in a growing number of papers, workshops and posters featured at the annual ASCILITE conference. You may need to dig a little but there is treasure to be found.
Communities
This community is open to anyone working in or hoping to work in EdAdvisor type roles - learning designer, education technologist, academic developer etc. We are based in Australia/New Zealand but have members around the globe and a relatively active online discussion board. We hold monthly webinars, occasional in-person events and work to support third space practitioners through a combination of advocacy, community building, research and professional development. (ASCILITE does also have a Learning Design SIG who are marvelous but I don’t know why we are two different groups and you should just join us. I think the difference is that they focus on the theory and practice of learning design rather than the interests and community of learning designers but those lines are very blurry)
LMS / Learning Design resources
Master Any LMS from Grazia Space
Grazia Scotellaro was a mentor to me in my early days of working in higher education but she never once made me feel that she was better than me - she simply had stories to tell and ideas to share. I felt that I had somehow ‘made it’ when she asked me to proofread and sense check this book which she self-published last week (late August 2026). This book is set up as a platform neutral travel guide to the land of learning management systems, providing the advice of a local to help newcomers understand the core common features and functionality as they set up and run the online parts of their units. But it is actually far more than that, deftly inserting thoughtful pedagogical course design tips about structure, resources, assessments, grading, communication and caring for students. The definitive must-read, particularly for those people just starting out with education and technology.