Voices from the Community

Members of the consortium

‘MEDAL has helped facilitate reflective thought’

It has been very effective in building staff confidence, because there’s a community of people who are interested in what you are doing. Somebody else thinks it is worth reading about your ideas and practices.’

MEDAL has been about ‘giving the subject of childhood a presence and importance it hasn’t been allowed.’

Being involved in the project has given me a lot in terns of understanding the nature of children’s studies and its place in the academy.

MEDAL has been characterised by opening things up and sharing and allowing free exchange.

It helps students to know that they are involved in a teaching and learning project; their stuff is up there on the site. It makes them more self aware.

I now feel part of a wider academic community.

Being exposed to other people’s ways of thinking has challenged a lot of boundaries.

The great thing about MEDAL is its openess .. we can all have a go and share.

My involvement in MEDAL has taught me something about academic leadership.

It’s made a huge amount of difference to the way I teach.

MEDAL contributors

People who have used and explored the materials (Staff and Students)

I look at the website a lot and use ideas

I read the case studies with great interest! I have informed my college at the Pre-School Teacher Programme about the MEDAL project/website, and encouraged them to read and join. I am glad to tell you that the feedback was positive. [International contributor]

I used your learning resource on signs of childhood. I actually used it for a drop-in session I ran for an Adult Learners in a local FE college. The people who come along are all ages and stages in their careers - some coming back into work after being at home with children, people thinking about changing careers, as well as a number already involved in early childhood who are wanting to progress academically and professionally. It was an ideal way of relating to all of them, and was very well received. Thank you for a very valuable resource. (Early Years lecturer)

I'm finding these case studies so useful! (Children’s Literature lecturer)

‘’I really like what you've done with that project - it's the nearest thing to a group of people working in the way that I am that I have found, albeit in a different area of literature.’’(English Lecturer)

Sharing MEDAL’s Case Study and Learning Resources

CSPN materials have been shared and used in a range of institutional contexts and with a huge range of different students. An example of this is Pam Knights’ learning resource,, ‘Signs of Childhood' . This has been adapted and used by a lot of people and has proved to be very popular with staff and students alike. Gathering more signs seems almost addictive! Here for example are Kay, .Linda and Mel taking photographs to gather their own signs of childhood at a conference run by the Academy in Bristol.

Mel and Linda gathering material for use in Perspectives On Childhood module.

"Signs Of Childhood" are really addictive and students love collecting them.

Students at Northumbria are even collecting them for their year one assignment work.

Students have also been using signs of childhood and gathering their own material. For example at Northumbria University first-year students have been using the approach in a large introductory unit. A successful bid into the universities research teaching links project funding will ensure that the approach continues to be developed and that lots of students benefit in future.

Here they are again, this time gathering signs of childhood in Kyoto.