Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory of Development

Ecological theory of human development by Bronfenbrenner 

The micro system: This is the settings in which a person lives in, this micro system includes the family, peer group, neighborhood and school life, this system helps shape a person's development through direct contact.. The nature of this system is that the individuals who have direct contact with the agent will aid in the construction of the settings of this system.

The Meso System: This system is the relationship between the Microsystems. The Microsystems interrelate with each other and this can be seen with the relationship between school life, the neighborhood and the family.  An example is where the peer groups may distort  performance of an individual in school or even the relationship of an individual with his family.

The exosystem: In this system the individual has no active role in determining the settings but the settings have direct influence on the individual. An example is where the government will build schools which will create a micro system environment. Also a parent may be layed off from work and this will result to certain outcomes to the family. An example are low income levels leading to the lack of basic needs in the family.

The Macro system:  This is the system that is caused by the ideology in the society or the culture of thesociety, this influences the individual directly but the individual has less in determining his settings, this for example include ideologies such as democracy, capitalism and socialism, another example of the macro system is religion which may include Christianity, and Islam.

The chronosystem: This system is the last system that Bronfenbrenner developed, this system develops as a result of a person's experience in his life, this includes environmental events and transitions in an individual’s life.  This also includes the history of an individual and the events that happen to them in daily life.

Credits here

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My Notes :

MICROSYSTEM

• The microsystem encompasses the relationships and interactions a child has with her immediate surroundings.
• Structures in the microsystem include environments of :

1. Family
2. School
3. Neighborhood
4. Childcare

• At this level, relationships have impact in two directions 

1. Away from the child.
2. Toward the child. 

• Eg : a child’s parents may affect his beliefs and behavior; however, the child also affects the behavior and beliefs of the parent.
• These are called bi-directional influences.
• At the microsystem level, bi-directional influences are strongest and have the greatest impact on the child.
• Bi-directional relationships are the foundation for the child's cognitive and emotional growth.

MESOSYSTEM

• This layer provides the connection between the structures of the child’s microsystem.
• Eg:  the connection between the child’s teacher and his parents, between his church and his neighborhood.

EXOSYSTEM

• This layer defines the larger social system in which the child does not function directly. 
• The structures in this layer impact the child’s development by interacting with some structure in her microsystem. 
• Eg :

1. Parent workplace schedules.
2. Community-based family resources.

• The child may not be directly involved at this level, but he does feel the positive or negative force involved with the interaction with his own system.

MACROSYSTEM

• This layer may be considered the outermost layer in the child’s environment. 
• While not being a specific framework, this layer is comprised of :

1. Cultural values
2. Customs
3. Laws 

• The effects of larger principles defined by the macrosystem have a cascading influence throughout the interactions of all other layers. 
• Eg : if it is the belief of the culture that parents should be solely responsible for raising their children, that culture is less likely to provide resources to help parents. 
• This, in turn, affects the structures in which the parents function. 
• The parents’ ability or inability to carry out that responsibility toward their child within the context of the child’s microsystem is likewise affected.
• Influences the societal values, legislation, and financial resources provided by a society to help families function.

CHRONOSYSTEM

• This system encompasses the dimension of time as it relates to a child’s environments. 
• Elements within this system can be either :

1. External, such as the timing of a parent’s death.
2. Internal, such as the physiological changes that occur with the aging of a child. 

• As children get older, they may react differently to environmental changes and may be more able to determine more how that change will influence them.

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~Thanks for reading~

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