Analysis of the Ecological Systems Theory

The ecological systems theory was developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917- 2005) to explain the role the environment plays on the child at different stages of development. It examined the interrelationship between nature and nurture taking into account that heredity, as well as environmental factors play a role in child development. In Bronfenbrenner’s earliest years of research, he defined this theory as “the study of progressive, mutual accommodation, throughout the life span, between a growing human organism and the changing immediate environments in which it lives” (as cited in Salkind, 2004). He then identified four levels of the environment comparing them to Russian dolls which nest within each other as the size of each gradually increases (The Family from a Child Development Perspective). These four levels of the environment are: the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and the macrosystem. As he continued to do further research of this theory and collaborated with other psychologists, several new concepts were introduced to complement his earlier ideas. In essence, bioecological factors that influence the individual’s ability to be beneficial to his environment were included leading to the theory being renamed as the “bioecogical theory” and the addition of another level of the environment, the chronosystem.

The first level of the environment Bronfenbrenner identified is the microsystem. It is the immediate surroundings in which the child interacts personally and is influenced. It directly affects the child and hence is the closest to the child. It has the ability to change during the course of the day as movement of the child occurs from one place to another. There are also three different components within every microsystem. These components include: the physical space and activities within the microsystem; the people who are part of the microsystem and their roles within it; and the interactions between the individual and the other people in the microsystem (Salkind, 2004). Examples of microsystems include the child’s home, neighborhood, nursery or school and the people who play a role in these microsystems are family, friends/peers and teachers. The way the child behaves around these people will influence how they treat him in return and vice versa. The first microsystem a child would experience is the home, then as the child gets older he would enter other microsystems such as the nursery or school, where he would be able to meet new people, interacting with them, improving gross motor skills and fine motor skills.

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The second level of the environment he identified is the mesosystem. This comprises of interrelationships between two or more microsystems for the benefit of the child. These interrelationships can have a circuitous impact on the child .The people, who play a role in the different microsystems, interact with each other forming a new experience for the child. If it is a positive relationship it can promote development of the child leading to a positive experience. However if it is a negative relationship, it can result in a stressful and negative experience for the child. An example of an interrelationship between mesosystems would be the relationship between the child’s parent and teacher. If they are able to work together playing an active role in the child’s development i.e. the parent ensures that the child does his homework thus assisting the teacher, participates in parent teacher association meetings, contributes to the school and class events, the child would be motivated to work harder in class, his social skills would be improve and evidently there would be a positive experience being provided. On the other hand, if the child does not do his homework and gets punished, his parents do not ensure that he does his homework, complain to the principle that the teacher hardly gives the child work and punishes the child, the child may be able to sense tension between his parents and teacher- a negative experience. The child may persist at being disruptive in class to get the attention of his teacher and parents, this can result in him being separated from his classmates and thus reduced ability to socialize.

The third level of the environment is the exosystem. The exosystem is the level of the environment in which the child has a low level of interaction in. The child would not be present in this level on a regular basis but it would still have the ability to indirectly influence the development of the child in a number of ways. The child also would not be involved in decision making processes about himself and others at this level of the environment. Examples of an exosystem are the child’s dental office, the child’s parents’ workplace and the homes of distant relatives of the child. A child whose parent is a professional singer and goes on tour performing in other countries might not see his parent for several months due to the parent’s tight schedule. This can cause less family time or less bonding time to occur, leaving the child anxious for the arrival of the parent. This anxiety can impact on his development even though he has little to no interaction with his parents work or say in the decision making process.

The next level of the environment Bronfenbrenner stated is the macrosystem. The macrosystem consists of all the levels of the environment previously stated and the culture and beliefs of the child which set his norms and values to be able to exist and function efficiently in the society in which he lives. Bronfenbrenner described the macrosystem as “overarching institutional patterns of culture or subculture, such as the economic, social, educational, legal, and political systems of which local micro, meso, and exosystems are the concrete manifestations” (Salkind, 2004). The macrosystem can also impact on the interactions of all the other levels of the environment. A child’s macrosystem may change as he gets older due to the further development and use of technology. An example of a macrosystem would be

The final level of the environment Bronfenbrenner identified is the chronosystem. The chronosystem includes natural environmental events, changes which occur during the child’s life time and sociohistorical circumstances. These can be traumatic experiences for the child. Natural environmental events consist of hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes etc. Changes which occur during the child’s lifetime can be classified as normative or non-normative. Normative changes include the changes from nursery school to primary school, the adolescent stage of puberty, early marriages in some cultures, entering the work force, etc. while non-normative changes would include the sudden death of a relative due to a short-term illness, the separation of the child’s parents, moving from an area where close friends and relatives live to a secluded area. These changes can either have a positive or negative impact on the child’s development. When a child enters a higher level of education from a lower level he makes new friends and develops his social / communication skills more. The separation and death of a child’s parents would affect a younger child’s development differently from an older child. A younger child might not be able to understand what occurred whereas an older child would. It can therefore have a long term negative impact on the older child. The older child may start to regress, perform poorly in school, enter a state of depression etc.

As seen above, each level of the environment consists of people who play an important role in the socialization process of the child. These people are referred to as socialization agents. Socialization agents include the family, peer groups, schools and mass media. Socialization occurs through the family and peer groups at the primary level of socialization and occurs through the school and mass media at the secondary level.

Primary socialization occurs from the time that the child is born to the first couple years of life. The family shapes the child’s beliefs and helps the child determine what the norms of his society are. How the child’s parents react to certain situations aid the child in determining what is right from wrong and how he should behave when he is home from in another environment. Socialization by the family is also informal, unstructured and unorganized.

The school and mass media is where the child gains more knowledge and awareness about things he previously knew or did not through the teaching, publishing and discussion of various subjects. They are more structured, organized and formal environments.

Urie Bronfenbrenner’s theory focusing on the growing and developing child informs these four main socialization agents in a number of ways. First of all it informs the child’s family and teachers on how to deal with and monitor negative situations within the home and school. For example, student A was playing with a football and student B wanted the football but did not ask to have it and took it away from student A. Student B then wanted student A to play with him but student A refused. Student B then purposely kicks the football to hit student A in his face. Student A then retaliates by body slamming student B into the ground. From this observation, a teacher with knowledge of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s theory can conclude that student A has a violent mesosystem and his interaction with his parents and other family members may be low and abusive resulting in him displaying this behavior to others. The teacher would then speak to student A’s parents about the incident and come to a mutual agreement on how to change this behavior to a positive influence on the child’s growth and development. Punishment of the child for his actions can lead to more aggressive behavior toward his colleagues and teachers especially if he believes that retaliating that way was the fair thing to do as his parents, like many Barbadian parents, teach their children that if someone hits them they should hit them back.

Secondly, schools and community centers should introduce more extracurricular activities and community activities that would shift the child’s negative mesosystem and exosystem to a positive one. The child’s time and energy would be more focused on positive developmental skills such as learning how to play a new sport and instrument, learning to do new craft projects etc. This would also involve the interaction with other people or the development of communication skills. Examples of these would include school fun walks for charity, drug education programs such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education in Barbados, 4-H, dancing groups etc. These socialization agents informed by Bronfenbrenner’s theory should provide someone, such as counsellors, that the child would feel comfortable to talk to when he cannot talk to his parents about a problem which may stun his growth and development. In essence, the counsellor would notify the parents and a social worker if it is an incident such as sexual abuse by another family member or another person.