OLIVAREZ COLLEGE

MGT 01: The Teacher &

The Community
ABENOJA, ALYSSA A.
ABICHUELA, MARIEFE G.
 Bronfenbrenner's
Ecological Systems
Theory
 Urie Bronfenbrenner
(born April 29, 1917, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.—died
September 25, 2005, Ithaca, New York, (88))
Russian-born American psychologist
Human Ecology Theory
(Ecological Systems Theory)
He studied music and psychology at Cornell
University, where he received a bachelor’s degree in
1938. Two years later, at Harvard University, he
earned a master’s degree in education, and in 1942
he graduated with a Ph.D. in developmental
psychology from the University of Michigan.
He also was honoured by the American Psychological
Association with its creation of the Urie Bronfenbrenner
Award for Lifetime Contribution to Developmental
Psychology in the Service of Science and Society.
 American psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner
What is formulated the Ecological Systems Theory to
explain how social environments affect
Bronfenbrenner's children’s development. This theory emphasizes

Ecological Systems the importance of studying children in multiple

environments, known as ecological systems, in
Theory? the attempt to understand their development.

Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model organizes

contexts of development into five nested levels of
external influence: Microsystem, Mesosystem,
Ecosystem, Macrosystem, and Chronosystem.
These levels are categorized from the most
intimate level to the broadest.
The Bioecological Model
The Microsystem
IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENTS
Parents
Siblings
Teachers
and School peers.
How is it affecting
the child?

Kraft and Dougherty (2012) found out that teachers'

and parents' communication increases the students'
participation in class. Teacher-student relationships,
with parental involvement can increase the students'
motivation.
For example:
a new child arrives in class who has recently been displaced by
conflict, building a relationship of trust with the child and helping
them to feel safe and welcome will be fundamental to them being
able to learn in the classroom.
 The Mesosystem
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE
MICROSYSTEMS
Interactions between the
child’s parents and teachers,
or between school peers and
siblings.
How is it affecting the
child?
\

For example, a teenager may notice that at home he

reads books, but when he is at his friend Mark’s house they
play video games. At the same time, the sense of oneself is
being constructed through the patterns of activities and
interpersonal relationships that take place across one’s
mesosystem. (B. Newman and P. Newman, 2020)
The Exosystem
It incorporates other formal and
informal social structures, which
do not themselves contain the
child, but indirectly influence
them as they affect one of the
microsystems.
 For example:
The teacher discovers through talking to the parents that one of the
things upsetting the child is that there is no place at the school for his
younger sister to attend. They are very close and so every day he is
missing his sister. The teacher approaches the Head teacher of the
school and the education authority to find out when a space might
become available for the sister and to make a case that there are
many other children unable to attend school. The teacher provides
evidence that an expansion of school places for displaced children is
necessary.
The Macrosystem
Focuses on how cultural
elements affect a child's
development, such as
socioeconomic status,
wealth, poverty, and
ethnicity.
How is it affecting
the child?
For example :If a family lives
in poverty, often times the
children have more responsibilities than other children
their ages.
One study found that children often do jobs. Girls
are usually overrepresented in non-economic
activities such as work in their “own household“.
They also often bear the double burden of work
outside and inside the house, often with little time
left for schooling.(GPE Secritariat,2016)
.
The Chronosystem
This system consists of all of the
environmental changes that
occur over the lifetime which
influence development, including
major life transitions, and
historical events.
Example:
The student are experiencing
global pandemic
P.Engzell et.al (2021) found out that that students
made little or no progress while learning from
home and suggest losses even larger in countries
with weaker infrastructure or longer school
closures.
Classroom
Application
To strengthen the development between the
ecological systems in educational practice
according to the theory, teachers and parents
should keep good communication with each
other and work together to benefit the child.
Classroom
Application
Teachers should also be understanding of the
situations their student’s families may be
experiencing, including social and economic factors
that are part of the various systems.
According to the theory, if parents and teachers
have a good relationship, this should shape the
child’s development in a positive way.
Classroom
Application
Likewise, the child must also be active in their
learning, engaged both academically and socially.
They must work as a team with their peers and get
involved in meaningful learning experiences to
enable positive development (Evans, 2012).
One behavior, many context
What will a student major in? Will he succeed?
SELF: Intelligence, learning disabilities, motivation

MICROSYSTEM: What options does the local college offer? What

support services do they provide? Can he afford to go elsewhere if he
wants?

MESOSYSTEM: Will his employer give him flexibility when needed?

Does his family support him in his goals?
EXOSYSTEM: State regulators set tuition and fees; politicians can
raise or lower the education budget
MACROSYSTEM: Cultural norms and values regarding the
importance of education, and which majors are appropriate for
men
CHRONOSYSTEM: Is he going to college right after high school, or
after a break? What year or decade is this?
 Bronfenbrenner’s theory in the 21st century

The world has changed a lot since

this theory was introduced in terms
This could suggest that the
of technological developments.
ecological systems are still valid but
However, it could still be said that
will expand over time to include
the exosystem of a child could be
new modern developments.
expanded to include social media,
video gaming and other modern-
day interactions within the
ecological system.
Any
Questions?
ONLINE REFERENCES:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Urie-Bronfenbrenner

https://www.simplypsychology.org/Bronfenbrenner.html

https://www.psychologynoteshq.com/bronfenbrenner-ecological-theory/
https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/mkraft/files/kraft_dougherty_teacher_com
munication_jree.pdf

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/mesosystem?
fbclid=IwAR0TQAS1QZMUbaIbZH2oRtxZIA-2f5JimiOgNjn0PcVslPqnk4eClZcG_2s

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/exosystem?
fbclid=IwAR1wxS8CsiATAUyrCynXWPVymwhIeBp33gwJuMZyQu7epuECxI_q_6YRpzI
 https://www.pnas.org/content/118/17/e202237

https://www.globalpartnership.org/blog/child-labor-hinders-
childrens-education

https://educ3040fall13.weebly.com/real-life-examples.html