From ‘no space’ to ‘scholarly space’: A reflection on the place of scholarship in the third space

This opinion piece utilises our own scholarship journeys and collaborative work as an example to inspire others in the third space to join our commitment to share experiences, values, and theoretical underpinnings of our work beyond the confines of our immediate contexts. Through reflecting on these personal journeys, we present scholarship as a vehicle that can enable those working across boundaries in higher education to contribute to the theoretical and epistemological foundations of their praxis. We argue that a critical contributor to this effect is the increased visibility within our own and surrounding professions. This becomes possible through a wide-ranging concept of scholarship, encompassing outputs from those that are more informal and practice-oriented, through to more traditional, theory-driven accounts. Rather than focusing on the constraints of the third space, we encourage those operating in this liminal space — such as ourselves as learning developers — to take advantage of the possibilities it can afford them. Our scholarship has enhanced our understanding of Learning Development work as theory-informed praxis, an outcome that we hope can be motivational towards the scholarship of other third-space professions.