BIOECOLOGICAL

SYSTEM
by Urie Bronfenbrenner
 ECOLOGICAL
SYSTEMS
1. Microsystem
2. Mesosystem
3. Exosystem
4. Macrosystem
5. Chronosystem
 1 Microsystem
Includes small, immediate environment
the child lives in

Ex. family, caregivers, teachers and friends

2 Mesosystem
• Describes how the
different parts of the
child’s microsystem work
together for the child.

• Ex. child’s parent play

an active role in school
 3 Exosystem
Includes the other people
and places the child may
not interact with often but
still have a large affect on
them.

Ex. parent's work places,

extended family
members, neighborhood
4 Macrosystem
The largest and most remote
set of people and things to a
child but which still has a great
influence over the child. It is
define as the culture in which
individuals live.

Ex. socio-economic status,

cultural values, political system
 5 Chronosystem
Encompasses the dimension
of time as it relates to a
child’s environment.
Transitions and shifts in one’s
lifespan

Ex. divorce, parent’s death

 The Body
• In the bioecological systems approach of
Bronfenbrenner, the body is part of the
microsystem. Its effects on the other parts
of the microsystem are probably obvious
to most of us.
 Brain & Biology
Biology of the brain is certainly one of
the most important systems in a developing
child.
The health of the child’s brain will have a
great impact on the rate and quality of
development in all areas.
Emotional System
Bronfenbrenner’s microsystem is
the first domain of emotions,
those that are found within the
family are central to a child’s
development.
 Cognitive System
Using the Piagetian terms, when
the infant is in the sensorimotor stage
it’s whole world is the microsystem
and the most immediate part of the
mesosystem.
 Behavioral System
The behavior is associated with the
environmental event, and when a similar
event occurs the response is recalled and
replayed. In the bio-ecological system, it is
the richness of the environment in the
microsystem that is important to the
development of the child.
 Family
The family is the closest,
most intense, most durable, and
influential part of the mesosystem.
 School
The relationships a child develops
in schools become critical to his or her
positive development. Because of the
amount of time children spend in
school,
the relationships fostered there carry
real weight.
 Religion/Spirituality
The relationship of religion to
the developing child is usually seen
as a source of moral and ethical
values.
 Community
The involvement of the structures
in a child’s mesosystem are meant to
provide the adult relationships
required for positive development.
 Society
Child’s society is responsible for
providing resources that enable
structures of the child’s mesosystem
to flourish, thus aiding in the child’s
positive development.
 Culture
Our culture dictates beliefs
concerning religion, school, family,
and community life.
 Global Influences
The relationships a child develops
in schools become critical to his or her
positive development. Because of the
amount of time children spend in
school, the relationships fostered there
carry real weight.
HOW BIOECOLOGICAL THEORY
COULD BE USEFUL?
• When integrating a new student in
classroom.
• When dealing with children who consistently
have behavior problems.
• Allow us to understand better how students
learn and thus incorporate this
understanding in teaching.
References:
Johnson E. (2008).Ecological Systems and Complexity Theory: Toward
an Alternative Model of Accountability in Education. Retrieved
from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/240627492_
Ecological_Systems_and_Complexity_Theory_Toward_an_Alter
native_Model_of_Accountability_in_Education

Paquette D. JR. (2001). Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems

Theory. Retrieved from http://dropoutprevention.org/wp-content
/uploads/2015/07/paquetteryanwebquest_20091110.pdf
THANK YOU!
Prepared by:
Marienel V. Gloriani
BSE Math 1-2