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A. Urie Bronfenbrenner’S Ecological Systems Theory Looks

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A. Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory looks at the development of a child as happening within an intricate system of relationships affected by various levels of their environment. Bronfenbrenner called his theory a bioecological model because the child’s biological attributes mesh with the environment to further development. There are 5 different systems that make up the child’s surrounding environment. The distinct systems are the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and the chronosystem. The microsystem is the first layer of the environment. It consists of the child’s immediate surroundings and the direct interactions involved within. …show more content…

Some examples include the parents’ workplaces, religious institutions, and even any place they receive government help. Some more informal surroundings of the exosystem include the parents’ social networks such as friends and extended family who provide advice, assistance, and friendship to the parents. The fourth layer of the environment is the macrosystem. The macrosystem contains cultural values, customs, resources, and laws. The more the macrosystem prioritizes children’s needs, the more support they get at the more inner levels of the environment. It also works the other way around. For example, in countries that emphasize laws which give generous benefits to employed parents or even laws that prioritize a higher standard of education, children see more support and have more beneficial experiences in their immediate surroundings. The last system is the chronosystem. According to Bronfenbrenner, the environment is a dynamic influence on a child’s development. There are always new environmental conditions being created for the child. The timing of the ever-changing environment also matters in terms of the child’s circumstance and age at the time of environmental change. The chronosystem consists of temporal environmental changes and

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