Question

Bronfenbrenner's Bio-Ecological Systems Theory (BEST) allows for close analysis of lived experiences and the impact of relationships - from family to historical events - on the individual's growth and development.

• Visual representation
• Reflection on teacher-student relationships

Answer 1

American psychologist, Urie Bronfenbrenner, formulated the Ecological Systems Theory to explain how the inherent qualities of children and their environments interact to influence how they grow and develop. The Bronfenbrenner theory emphasizes the importance of studying children in multiple environments, also known as ecological systems, in the attempt to understand their development.

According to Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, children typically find themselves enmeshed in various ecosystems, from the most intimate home ecological system to the larger school system, and then to the most expansive system which includes society and culture. Each of these ecological systems inevitably interact with and influence each other in all aspects of the children’s lives.Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model organizes contexts of development into five levels of external influence. These levels are categorized from the most intimate level to the broadest.

bronfenbrenner theoryT

he Bronfenbrenner Ecological Model: Microsystem

The Bronfenbrenner theory suggests that the microsystem is the smallest and most immediate environment in which children live. As such, the microsystem comprises the daily home, school or daycare, peer group and community environment of the children.

Interactions within the microsystem typically involve personal relationships with family members, classmates, teachers and caregivers. How these groups or individuals interact with the children will affect how they grow.

Similarly, how children react to people in their microsystem will also influence how they treat the children in return. More nurturing and more supportive interactions and relationships will understandably foster they children’s improved development.

One of the most significant findings that Urie Bronfenbrenner unearthed in his study of ecological systems is that it is possible for siblings who find themselves in the same ecological system to experience very different environments.

Therefore, given two siblings experiencing the same microsystem, it is not impossible for the development of them to progress in different manners. Each child’s particular personality traits, such as temperament, which is influenced by unique genetic and biological factors, ultimately have a hand in how he/she is treated by others.

The Bronfenbrenner Ecological Model: Mesosystem

The mesosystem encompasses the interaction of the different microsystems which children find themselves in. It is, in essence, a system of microsystems and as such, involves linkages between home and school, between peer group and family, and between family and community.

According to Bronfenbrenner’s theory, if a child’s parents are actively involved in the friendships of their child, for example they invite their child’s friends over to their house from time to time and spend time with them, then the child’s development is affected positively through harmony and like-mindedness.However, if the child’s parents dislike their child’s peers and openly criticize them, then the child experiences disequilibrium and conflicting emotions, which will likely lead to negative development.

The Bronfenbrenner Ecological Model: Exosystem

The exosystem pertains to the linkages that may exist between two or more settings, one of which may not contain the developing children but affect them indirectly nonetheless.

Based on the findings of Bronfenbrenner, people and places that children may not directly interact with may still have an impact on their lives. Such places and people may include the parents’ workplaces, extended family members, and the neighborhood the children live in.

For example, a father who is continually passed up for promotion by an indifferent boss at the workplace may take it out on his children and mistreat them at home.

The Bronfenbrenner Ecological Model: Macrosystem

The macrosystem is the largest and most distant collection of people and places to the children that still have significant influences on them. This ecological system is composed of the children’s cultural patterns and values, specifically their dominant beliefs and ideas, as well as political and economic systems.

For example, children in war-torn areas will experience a different kind of development than children in peaceful environments.

The Bronfenbrenner Ecological Model: Chronosystem

The Bronfenbrenner theory suggests that the chronosystem adds the useful dimension of time, which demonstrates the influence of both change and constancy in the children’s environments. The chronosystem may include a change in family structure, address, parents’ employment status, as well as immense society changes such as economic cycles and wars.By studying the various ecological systems, Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory is able to demonstrate the diversity of interrelated influences on children’s development. Awareness of the contexts that children are in can sensitize us to variations in the way children may act in different settings.

For example, a child who frequently bullies smaller children at school may portray the role of a terrified victim at home. Due to these variations, adults who are concerned with the care of a particular child should pay close attention to his/her behavior in different settings, as well as to the quality and type of connections that exist between these settings.

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