Embracing the “third space” in higher education

A case for embedded students-as-partners teaching and learning

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v9i2.5970

Keywords:

SaP, third space, creativity, higher education, Becoming

Abstract

This paper presents a case for integrating students as partners (SaP) within the curriculum of higher education (HE), particularly through the lens of “third space” learning. Drawing on our experiences as a collaborative of educators in Canada and the United Kingdom, we explore the liberatory potential of play, partnership, and co-creation in HE. Through the Becoming an Educationist (Becoming) module, we demonstrate how SaP can empower students—especially non-traditional students in UK post-1992 universities, that is, UK institutions with a strong focus on widening participation, applied learning, and “social mobility” or transformative learning—to find their voice in academia. We argue for embedding SaP within the curriculum to foster a sustainable ecology of collaborative practice for social justice, challenging traditional divisive structures in education.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Sandra Abegglen, University of Calgary

Abegglen, Sandra is a Researcher in the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape at the University of Calgary, Canada, with a strong interest in collaboration, co-creation and social justice. Her research focuses on online education, hybrid pedagogy, academic literacies, creative learning and teaching methods, inclusion, and identity. She has been awarded for her international interdisciplinary collaborative work.

 

Tom Burns, London Metropolitan University

Burns, Tom is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Centre for Teaching Enhancement at London Metropolitan University, with a special focus on praxes that ignite student curiosity, and develop power and voice. Tom has set up adventure playgrounds, community events and festivals for his local community, worked in theatre and film, and feeds arts-based practice into his learning, teaching and assessment practices.

Sandra Sinfield, London Metropolitan University

Sinfield, Sandra is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Centre for Teaching Enhancement at London Metropolitan University. Sandra is interested in creativity as liberatory and holistic practice in Higher Education; she has developed theatre and film in unusual places; and inhabited SecondLife as a learning space. She is the co-founder of the Association for Learning Development in Higher Education (ALDinHE).

References

Abegglen, S., Akhbari, M., Albright, S., Brown, B., Burns, T., Clancy, T. L., Din, C., Faunt, M., Gospodinov, J., Hill, J., Huenchullan, S. R., Kamal, S., McLaughlin, E., Nowell, L., Parker, S. I. A., Porter, A., Presiloski, A., Rozanski, C., Sinfield, S., Thomas, C., & Wolfe, K. (2024). Students as partners in higher education: Perspectives and practices (M. Arcellana-Panlilio & C. Jeffs, Eds.). University of Calgary, Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning Guide Series. https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/43123

Abegglen, S., Burns, T. & Sinfield, S. (2021b). Editorial: Collaboration in higher education: Partnering with students, colleagues and external stakeholders. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 18(7), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.53761/1.18.7.1

Bhabha, H. K. (2004). The location of culture. Routledge.

Burns, T., Sinfield, S., & Abegglen, S. (2019). Third space partnerships with students: Becoming educational together. International Journal for Students as Partners, 3(1), 60–68. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v3i1.3742

Burns, T., Sinfield, S., & Abegglen, S. (2018). Case study 5: Multimodal exhibition. Journal of Writing in Creative Practice, 11(2), 297–303. https://doi.org/10.1386/jwcp.11.2.297_7

Freire, P. (2018). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Bloomsbury.

Gutiérrez, K. D. (2008). Developing a socio-critical literacy in the third space. Reading Research Quarterly, 43(2), 148–164. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1598/RRQ.43.2.3

Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.

Lubicz-Nawrocka, T. M. (2019). “More than just a student”: How co-creation of the curriculum fosters third spaces in ways of working, identity, and impact. International Journal for Students as Partners, 3(1), 34–49. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v3i1.3727

Mercer-Mapstone, L., & Abbot, S. (Eds.). (2019). Power of partnership: Students, staff, and faculty revolutionizing higher education. Elon University Center for Engaged Learning. https://www.centerforengagedlearning.org/books/power-of-partnership/

Myhre, M., Abegglen, S., Sinfield, S., Burns, T., & Griffiths, O. (2022). Partnership working: Opening doors - Crossing thresholds. International Journal for Students as Partners, 6(1), 153–159. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v6i1.4738

Nancy, J. L. (2000). Being singular plural. Stanford University Press.

Parr, R. (2014, May 01). The importance of play. Times Higher Education. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/features/the-importance-of-play/2012937.article

Reay, D., Crozier, G., & Clayton, J. (2009). ‘Strangers in paradise’? Working-class Students in elite universities. Sociology, 43(6), 1103-1121. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038509345700

Sinfield, S., Burns, T. & Abegglen, S. (2019). Exploration: Becoming playful - the power of a ludic module. In A. James & C. Nerantzi (Eds.), The power of play in higher education: Creativity in tertiary learning (pp. 23–31). Palgrave Macmillan.

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (2021). Knowledge synthesis grants: Emerging asocial society. https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/programs-programmes/ksg_asocial_society-ssc_societe_asociale-eng.aspx

Thorpe, C., & Partridge, H. (2024). The third space in higher education: A scoping review. Higher Education Policy. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41307-024-00374-z

Webster, H. (2018, April 5). My conceptual model for learning development. Rattus Scholasticus. https://rattusscholasticus.wordpress.com/2018/04/05/my-Conceptual-model-for-learning-development

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

Downloads

Published

2025-10-15

How to Cite

Abegglen, S., Burns, T., & Sinfield, S. (2025). Embracing the “third space” in higher education: A case for embedded students-as-partners teaching and learning. International Journal for Students as Partners, 9(2), 221–229. https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v9i2.5970

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 2 (2025)

Section

Case Studies

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Sandra Abegglen, Tom Burns, Sandra Sinfield

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process - this applies to the submitted, accepted, and published versions of the manuscript. This can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access).