1 The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principle

Module 2 Developmental Theories

Lesson 6

Lesson 5: Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory

The theory suggests that a child's development is affected by the different environments that they encounter
during their life, including biological, interpersonal, societal, and cultural factors.

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory

Bronfenbrenner came up with a simple yet useful paradigm showing the different factors that exert influence
on an individual’s development. It points out the ever widening spheres of influence that shape every
individual, from his/her immediate family to the neighborhood, the coutry, even the world.

Bronfenbrenner’s model also known as the Bioecological Systems Theory presents child development within
the context of relationship systems that comprise the child’s environment. It describes multipart layers of
environment that has an effect on the development of the child. Each layer is further made up of different
structures.
The term Bio ecological points out that a childs own biological make-up impacts as key factor in one’s
development.

ARIANNE ROSS FABIAN LERON, LPT,MAT

INSTRUCTOR
2 The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principle

Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model: Structure of Environment

The Microsystem
This layer nearest the child, comprises structures which child directly interacts with. It includes structures
such as one’s family, school and neighbourhood. Microsystem covers the most basic relationships and
interactions that a child has in his/her immediate environment. This means that the child is affected by people
with whom he interacts, and in turn these people are also affected by the child.

The Mesosystem
This layer serves as the connection between the structures of the child’s microsystem. It includes the link or
interaction between the parents and teachers or the parent health services or the community and the church.

The Exosystem
It refers to the bigger social system in which the child does not function directly. This includes the city
government, the workplace, and the mass media. The structure of this layer may influence the child’s
development by somehow affecting some structure in the child’s microsystem. It includes the circumstances of
the parent’s work like for example the mother works in a call center.

The Macrosystem
This layer is found in the outermost part in the child’s environment. It includes cultural values, customs, laws.
For example
 Western countries like US, most of the young people are expected to be more independent by the time
they end their teen-age years, while in Asian countries like ours, parents are expected to support or at
least want to support their children for a longer period of time.
 In China and also in other parts of the World son are more valuable than daugthers.

Because of differences in beliefs and customs, children from different parts of the world experience different
child-rearing practices and therefore differences in development as well.

The Chronosystem
It covers the elements of time as it relates to a child’s environment. This involves “patterns of stability and
change” in the childs life. This system can affect or influence the child externally, like the timing of other
siblings coming or the timing of parental separation or even death.

Effect can also be internal, like the bodily changes that occur within the developing child, like the timing of
menstrual onset for girls.
As children get older they any react differently to environmental changes, they also acquired the ability to cope
and decide to what extent they will allow changes around them to affect them.

ARIANNE ROSS FABIAN LERON, LPT,MAT

INSTRUCTOR
3 The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principle

ARIANNE ROSS FABIAN LERON, LPT,MAT

INSTRUCTOR