Ecological Systems Theory and Child Development Essay, [University]

This essay examines child development through the lens of Urie Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory. It outlines the theory's core components, including the microsystem (immediate surroundings), mesosystem (interactions between microsystems), exosystem (indirect influences), macrosystem (cultural and societal influences), and chronosystem (the dimension of time and change). The essay emphasizes the interconnectedness of these systems and their impact on a child's development. It also discusses the role of family, school, and broader societal factors in shaping a child's growth. The essay concludes by highlighting the importance of understanding the ecological context in promoting healthy child development, referencing relevant research and providing a comprehensive overview of the theory's application.

Running Head: CHILD DEVELOPMENT
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note:

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Ecological systems theory
Ecological Systems Theory is an approach that helps to answer every question
regarding the affecting areas of child development by the social relationship
(Onwuegbuzie, Collins & Frels, 2013 p. 8).
Figure 1: Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory
Microsystem – “a pattern of activities, roles, and interpersonal relations experienced by the
developing person in a given face-to-face setting”.
Mesosystem – “Compromise the linkage and processes taking place between two or more
settings containing the developing person”.
Exosystem – “One or more setting that do not involve the developing person as an active
participant, but in which event occur that affect, or are affected by, what happens in the setting
containing the developing person”.

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Macrosystem – “The overarching pattern of micro, meso and exosystems features of a given
culture, subculture, or other extended social structure”.
Chronosystem – “The influence on the person’s development of changes over time in the
environment in which the person is living”.
Reflection
The theory
The psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner is the proprietor Ecological Systems Theory to
explain the influence of the variants of environmental system on human development. According
to the modern theorists social emotional development is a procedure over the time. It is a
complex procedure that include a proper communication of an individual being with the
particular aspects of environment.
Microsystem
The proximal layer of the Ecological Systems Theory is the microsystem. It involves the
setting with which the individual has direct connection. For instance, activities outside the school
including sports, educational gathering, and faith based programs. Hence, microsystem refers
to the reactions a child gets from their immediate surroundings including the family,
neighborhood, schools, and also includes the day care center (Cumming & Allen, 2017 pp.
1712). The researchers also consider the perception of the family responsible for an individual
development. .
Mesosystem

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The second layer of the Ecological system theory is known as Mesosystem. It involves
some procedure that includes multiple microsystems. This layer is comprised of connection
between groups observed within microsystem. For example relationship between parents and
teacher has a greater impact on childhood development. It helps to understand the true essence
of the activities within the activities (Onwuegbuzie, Collins & Frels, 2013 p. 5). It helps to
determine the understanding of the young adult’s development. The key participants of this
activity are family and school. It stresses on the fact of family influencing to build the sense of
coordination among the children.
Exosystem
The next layer of Ecological Systems Theory is Exosystem. It is not a directly embedded
procedure of an individual. It is the level of understanding developed within an individual
through the influence of other important people within the life of an individual. It is limited in
the activities off outer school and families. For instance, the organizations where the parents of a
children do not have direct connection with them. The perception of the parents are influenced or
affected by the organizational behavior. Hence, the development of the children has indirect
connection with the organizations where the parents work (Neal & Neal, 2013 p. 730).
Similarly, children from the family of a famous singer are intended to grow interest within music
and related activities.
Macrosystem
The final stage of Ecological Systems Theory is Macrosystem. It is defined by the terms
including values, beliefs, norms, cultural reflection, socioeconomic organizations, and religion.
In simple words all the cultural elements of childhood development are included in

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Macrosystem (Neal & Neal, 2013 p 722). This layer helps to understand the way of expressing
the self by the children. It has a deep connection with Mesosystem as both the layers are
indirectly connected with a child’s life.
Chronosystem
Chronosystem is the last added layer of the Ecological Systems Theory. It defines the phase of
life a person is going through. It can be a death of a closed family member or birth of a baby.
Children are observed with different impacts from both the mentioned consequences
(Cumming & Allen, 2017 p. 1717). Along with this, the system also includes environmental
events and sociohistoric events a person suffers during a particular phase of life.
Conclusion
In conclusion it can be said that, there are different properties of human development
including context, person, time, and process. Person refers to the individual difference observed
within the entire generation and it is featured by age, competency, and gender. Context is the
factor that includes all the four stages of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory. This
theory demonstrates that a child intensely find himself or herself within different ecosystems. It
comprised of personal ecological system of home and the huge ecosystem of school. The most
expensive or crucial ecosystem of child’s life is the community and culture.

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Reference
Cumming, G. S., & Allen, C. R. (2017). Protected areas as social‐ecological systems:
perspectives from resilience and social‐ecological systems theory. Ecological
applications, 27(6), 1709-1717.
Neal, J. W., & Neal, Z. P. (2013). Nested or networked? Future directions for ecological systems
theory. Social Development, 22(4), 722-737.
Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Collins, K. M., & Frels, R. K. (2013). Foreword: Using Bronfenbrenner’s
ecological systems theory to frame quantitative, qualitative, and mixed
research. International journal of multiple research approaches, 7(1), 2-8.