The Social Ecological Perspective Of Children, Young People And Their Families

The lives of children are greatly influenced by the environment they grow up in, and the people they come in contact with. For years, psychologists, researchers, and social workers have studied children, and why they do what they do. All have developed many different perspectives on how to view social problems and the development of individuals.

A child’s environment, for example, their family or school play a huge part in their development. Some of the main factors that influence a child’s development are their family, where the child lives, and socio-economic status. These factors often cross over and blend as they are related.

Vygotsky proposed that children’s development is affected by their culture and social interaction. He also suggested that children are not born with knowledge but they gain it through their social interactions with peers and adults; he does not rule out the importance of biological processes but proposes an interdependent relationship between biological development alongside social activity and cultural interaction.

It is difficult for researchers to isolate specific causes of child behaviour because each child’s environmental settings and values are different from one to another.

Children and young people often experience many things which have a direct impact on their development; things such as their family environment and structure, personality, hospital visits, childcare arrangements, and culture.

In a social context, it can be observed that children will follow the direction of other children (Harris) and will learn how to act in a society (Harris). They also tend to stay within the same peer group and that is why moving a lot can cause problems in different aspects (Harris). Theses example help Judith prove her point that peers have a much larger influence on a child’s development then

Child development is the genetic and internal changes that occur in children during early years. There are many internal and external factors that affect a child 's growth and development. The connection between a child’s environment and a child’s development are explored in Heather O 'Neill 's lullabies for little criminals where a child named Baby becomes a product of her environment. This is explored through the early death of Baby’s mother, her being raised by a young father and her father 's drug addiction. Baby’s bad decisions and choices come from a lack of guidance necessary for a child’s social growth and development.

Bronfenbrenner U. (1986). Ecology of the Family as a Context for Human Development: Research Perspectives {Electronic version]. Developmental Psychology, 22, 723-742.

On top of the expected pattern of children and young people’s development including “physical, communication & intellectual & social, emotional & behavioural development there are also “personal and external” factors which will affect how they develop.

Family environment and background has a huge effect on a child’s development. If a child lives within a happy, healthy and stimulating environment where good relationships are formed then it is unlikely that there will be any developmental issues and children will go on to thrive. A lot depends on how many are in the family, the housing and area in which they live, what facilities there are locally, whether parents work or are workless.

There are some similarities between Bandura’s another theory which is social learning theory with Urie Bronfenbrenner‘s ecological model of individual development. As they both give clear explanation and emphasize on how children’s all area of development and behaviour can be influence by others and the whole environment surrounding them. They also both agree that children’s social interactions with others and culture are important and can affect their learning, education and development. Learning Theories in Childhood (2015). There are others theories who have some view that are similarity to them, who are Les Vygotsky, who suggested the essential and influences of families, communities and other children in a child’s life. How Children Learn (2006). Vygotsky also suggested that the historical, culture and institutional context can make influences on their development and view of the world. (Stating from the child p142).

'Social workers have a professional and ethical responsibility to (...) interact and intervene with clients and their environments' (Teater, 2010, p.4). According to this premise, the ecological approach in social work interventions offers an effective method of relating children, young people and their families to their environment. It is an approach that allows social workers to intervene in cases where a child is abused or neglected, while providing a good theoretical framework for social workers' direct work. This essay is going to assess the ecological model within a social work practice directed at children. It will stress the importance of this model, and explain its application in today's child protection work.

There is a wide range of major genetic, social and environmental factors which influence the health and wellbeing of children in today’s society. According to The Marmot Review (2011) the more deprived the area or district which a child lives in, the more likely it is to have social and

Starting with an overview of social constructionism in very general terms leads to build more explicit an understanding of child and childhood in a social world. The notion of social constructionism is defined in diverse disciplines and instead of generating a single description there are a number of thoughts. “It is sometimes called a movement, at other times a position, a theory, a theoretical orientation, an approach; psychologists remain unsure of its status” (Stam 2001, p. 294)”. Vivien (1995, p. 10) points out that the origin of social constructionism stems from two to three hundred years ago in the period of enlightenment, modernism and postmodernism. Berger and Luckmann’ (1966) book The Social Construction of Reality as the first book to have the title of “social construction”, has made an influential contribution in recent studies (Hacking, 1999). In this book, questioning everyday life realities and giving examples from it, shows the importance of social relations and the language that we used. Hacking’s (1999) The Social Construction of What? offers up-to-date and logical instances which enable us to comprehend these aspects. He lists a number of things that can be

Before anything else, the term “Sociocultural context” must be defined. Sociocultural context is defined as “the physical, social, cultural, economic, and historical circumstances that make up any child’s environment”. (Siegler, DeLoache, & Eisenberg, 2014) It is a very broad term covering a wide variety of subjects that have the potential to impact a child’s development either positively or negatively. Due to it being so broad, it is critical to give at least one example for each of these terms in the definition. An example of a physical environment is where someone physically grew up, and includes factors such as environment and one’s physical house. (Siegler, et al. 2014) Social environment is who one grew up around, including friends, family, and educators. (Siegler, et al. 2014) Cultural environment refers to a set of beliefs, customs, practices and behavior that influence population. Economic circumstances refer to one’s financial well-being; and historical circumstances refer to the time that one grew up in and the historical events that one was