Urie Bronfenbrenner

1917-2005

Ecological Systems

Theory

Human development occurs in context

-- It is both influenced by it and

influences it in a bi-directional way, in

a hierarchical way.

According to this model, the child does

not enter the world as a blank slate,

but is equipped with a rich

evolutionary heritage.

The contexts of human development

are varied: The culture in which a

child is born, the particular period in

history, the subculture and

community, the child's family, the

immediate surroundings.

Humans:

seek social stimuli,

attend to human speech,

form attachment patterns to caregivers,

have a facility for learning a language,

and have an interest in explaining and

mastering the world around them.

Development in context.

The model is depicted in

concentric rings, or nested structures, each one

influencing those inside it.

Microsystem

Activities and relationships and interaction patterns in the child’s immediate surroundings.

Mesosystem

This system provides the

connection between the structure

of the child’s microsystem. I.e.

home, school, neighborhood, day

care center.

Exosystem

Social settings that do not contain

children but nevertheless affect their

experience in immediate settings. For

example, parent’s workplace,

extended family, and friends .

Macrosystem

It is not a specific context, but consists in the values, laws, customs, and resources of a particular culture.

Chronosystem

This system encompasses the dimension

of time as it relates to the Child’s

environment.