Development Theories: Urie Bronfenbrenner

There are many types of development theories, Psychoanalytic theories, Cognitive theories, Behavioral and social cognitive theories, ethological theories and ecological theories. Everyone processes and interprets things and information differently. After researching these various developmental theories I believe that the ecological theories best describe development. Urie Bronfenbrenner is the researcher that created the ecological theory. The psychoanalytic theories least describe development in my opinion. Each theory has certain aspects that I believe to be true and certain aspects that I believe to be false when it comes to development. Eclectic theoretical orientation takes pieces of each theory that makes the most sense when it comes

It is based on everyone and everything that is in a person’s/child’s life. This includes parents, teachers, babysitters, neighbors and even other children with whom they are around, the child’s own biology and their culture. Everyone that interacts or doesn’t interact with a child has an impact on that child’s development. Ecological theory is broken down into five systems, microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem. The microsystem is a child’s immediate environment. This includes the child’s parents, siblings, the neighborhood, school, peers. Mesosystem is the interactions between the different microsystems. For example, the way the child’s parents react or interact with the child’s school. This is parents participating in their child’s school events. Whether it’s a school social or conference or even a school sporting event. It’s about the different microsystems working together for the child’s development. The exosystem is the settings that are not directly related to the child. The child doesn’t participate in these settings. This would include a parent’s job or even an extended family

Ecological theory bases a child’s development is based on their environment, the adults, and peers around them. Their behavior is based on what they learn from watching or observing the behavior of others. Children imitate the things that they see or have seen others do around them. They understand what the person is doing and then they do that behavior. They imitate what they are observing. As the child grows those behaviors of others that they observed become their own behaviors. Children also develop from events that have nothing to do with them but yet impact the world around them, which in turn does impact their development. A parent coaching her child’s tee ball team impacts that child through her interaction with the school, other parents and teams, and the other children on the