Research consultancy
Ecological systems theory
This theory looks at a child’s development within the context of the system of relationships that form his or her environment. Bronfenbrenner’s theory defines complex “layers” of environment, each having an effect on a child’s development.
According to this theory the interaction between factors in the child’s maturing biology, his immediate family/community environment, and the societal landscape fuels and steers his development.
Changes or conflict in any one layer will ripple throughout other layers. To study a child’s development then, we must look not only at the child and her immediate environment, but also at the interaction of the larger environment as well
Diagram
Religion
Family
Macro systems
Source: developed by researcher
Bronfenbrenner’s structure of environment:
The microsystem this is the layer closest to the child and contains the structures with which the child has direct contact. The microsystem encompasses the relationships and interactions a child has with her immediate surroundings (Berk, 2000). Structures in the microsystem include family, school, neighborhood, or childcare environments. At this level, relationships have impact in two directions – both away from the child and toward the child. For example, a child’s parents may affect his beliefs and behavior; however, the child also affects the behavior and beliefs of the parent. Bronfenbrenner calls these bi-directional influences, and he shows how they occur among all levels of environment. The interaction of structures within a layer and interactions of structures between layers is key to this theory. At the microsystem level, bi-directional influences are strongest and have the greatest impact on the child. However, interactions at outer levels can still impact the inner structures.
According to the findings in the theory, the results shows that the child’s behavior is affected by numerous factors in the meso systems these may include parental influence , if the child has parents who are drunkards , this may force a child also to become a drunkard, other factors to influence a child’s characters include; peer influence at schools these may be as a results of child moving in a group of students or pupils who are also drunkards, these environmental influence have an instrumental mental influence on the character of the child.
Mesosystem
This layer provides the connection between the structures of the child’s microsystem (Berk, 2000). Examples: the connection between the child’s teacher and his parents, between his church and his neighborhood, etc.
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 (Berk, 2000). Parent workplace schedules or community-based family resources are examples. 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
