Managing third space pedagogy through literature circle

This study explores how English teachers manage the implementation of Third Space Pedagogy through Literature Circles in an Islamic Senior High School in Indonesia.Within a faith-based context where classroom practices are shaped by hierarchy and moral discipline, the research investigates how teachers negotiate between institutional authority, cultural values, and dialogic pedagogy.Using a qualitative case study design, data were collected through interviews, observations, and document analysis.The findings reveal that teachers enacted Third Space Pedagogy by (1) negotiating access to literary resources, (2) balancing institutional regulations with student autonomy, (3) fostering dialogic participation, (4) integrating reading and writing as transformative literacy, and (5) redefining achievement through negotiation and sustainability.Teachers acted as cultural mediators, blending Islamic ethics, such as ta'awun (collaboration), tafakkur (reflection), and akhlaq (ethics), with student-centered learning.The study concludes that sustaining Third Space Pedagogy in faith-based schools requires ongoing negotiation between innovation and institutional norms.It demonstrates that Literature Circles can function as culturally responsive and transformative pedagogical spaces that cultivate language proficiency, moral reflection, and student agency.