Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory: The Impact of Microsystems on Childhood Development

This essay discusses Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory and focuses on the impact of microsystems on childhood development. It explores how the environment and parental interactions shape a child's growth and development. The author shares personal experiences of a harsh upbringing and the effects it had on their social skills, emotional well-being, and cognitive growth.

EDUC 119: Essay Task 1
Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological systems theory
MICROSYSTEM
According to Bronfenbrenner (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2016; 2018),
microsystems entail the interaction of the environment being interacted by the
child in the early stages. This range from family, caregivers or the care takers.
The effects of childhood action on the Microsystems often affect the overall
growth process. Parental environment plays a critical role in the overall
development. The following example depicts my young child hood
Microsystems environment.
As a young child, growing up in my family was not a rosy park. I
encountered a harsh upbringing due to authoritative parenthood I faced from
my father. At age 12, I could realize and understand the strictness high ended-
ness my father gave me. Being strict and a military man was not bound to be
easy. I had to follow strict instructions and often occasioned harassment
whenever I did a mistake or did not appease him. These feelings brought a lot
of fear and panic in me. My childhood was full of fear and being less confident
in my actions and behavior.
My mother on the other end never came to my rescue. This, as I learnt
later had dire consequences from my father, as he could have accused her of
babysitting me too much and hence I could not grow to be a responsible
person the future. The environmental interaction I faced brought psychological
torture on me and lived a life of fear knowing that I was bound to make a
mistake hence lived in fear. Only later in my late teenage years, I realized that
my anti-social behaviour to my colleagues began a long time ago
characterized by lack of time to interact with my environment freely in order to
build on my social skills.
The relationship I gained from my parents from my childhood hood years had
a significant impact on my overall developmental process. My social skills were
negatively affected due to constants quarrels I received from my parents
especially my father. This made me be a more reserved and introvert person as
judged later in adulthood years. The emotional aspect was hampered often,
regular quarrels and made me to always be hyperactive making me to always be
uneasy. My ability to recognize, understand and manage my wide feelings of
emotions was critically hampered. I always had rational thoughts as a child always
believing that the world is shaped the way it was subjected to me. My spiritual
wellbeing was dampened, as peace of mind translate to a positive spiritual piece.
Despite this, my cognitive growth developed exponentially always learning to be
anxious and sharp (Mason et al., 2015). My memories from the experiences I
received during my childhood however still remain fresh in mind. Despite this,
overall development growth was shaped to take life serious and solve any issues
facing me with the urgency it deserves knowing that there is no play with life just
as my father never offered me a comfort zone during my childhood years.
References:

Duchesne, S., & McMaugh, A. (2018). Educational psychology for learning and
teaching. Cengage AU.
Mason, M., Mennis, J., Light, J., Rusby, J., Westling, E., Crewe, S., ... &
Zaharakis, N. (2016). Parents, peers, and places: young urban
adolescents’ microsystems and substance use involvement. Journal of
child and family studies, 25(5), 1441-1450.