How Does Bronfenbrenner's Theory Of Development Influence Current Practice

Children have been studied throughout the years and many theories explaining childhood development have been created. It was understood by these theorists that children are unique individuals but it was also observed and accounted for that there were some general trends that occur throughout growing up. Theories on development assist childcare professionals in various ways. These theories help to describe, explain, and predict behaviors (Berk, 2003).Theorists explain how children usually develop through a variety of channels over a period of time and one such theorist was Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005) who was the creator of the ecological systems theory. It was argued by Bronfenbrenner that to comprehend human development, the entire ecological

Within this level, connections between Microsystems are observed working together to benefit the child. This means then, that a Mesosystem is a system of Microsystems (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). The interactions occurring between the persons involved in the individual Microsystems assist in forming new experiences for that child. Similar to Microsystems, Mesosystems can be either long term and consist of events such as family gatherings on holidays or be one-time occurrences such as a field trip taken with their school. The ability of a child to learn when they are away from home, depends on the quality of the lessons being taught to the child by the teachers and the level that parents value these lessons and the extent that communication occurs between the parents and the teachers (Schulting, Malone & Dodge, 2005). It was argued by Bronfenbrenner that optimal development is reached via strong links between a child’s Microsystem (Shaffer & Kipp, 2012). It has to be noted however, that there is also the potential for Mesosystems to produce stress that can affect the child. One of the main reasons why this may occur is that when two of the child’s Microsystems combine, the situation created may cause the child to think that he/she must fulfill two different roles at the same

This level incorporates all the other levels and with this system of overarching beliefs and values that may vary in some cultures, it is understood that there is a need to be supportive of children’s needs. This can be evidenced, for example, certain states have written child protection laws and numerous resources that are focused on providing educational and child-care facilities of good quality and allow persons to have health care access. However, values of individuals who regard characteristics such as socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity and gender may have a serious effect on the quality of the care children receive and tend to diminish the nurture and interaction that children would usually experience (Lightfoot, Cole, M., & Cole, S, 2009). This level of the ecological systems makes the needs of children the priority and the support they receive at the inner levels of the environment is affected by the adults in that child’s life (Berk, 2008). The idea of this level of the overall system is that the environment of the child who is developing may not only include the child and his/her Microsystems which are interconnected, but