Summary
The ecological systems theory views childhood development in the context of the system of the relationships that make the child’s environment. Bronfenbrenner states that there are “layers” that make up the environment, and each layer has an effect on the child’s development (1994). Changes in one layer, affects the other, and it can interfere with childhood development. According to the theory, a child’s development is not only affected by the immediate environment, but also the larger environment.
The first two Signature Assignments explores the applicability of the ecological systems theory. Through observation of the child and an interview with the parents, one can get a glimpse of the environment affecting the child’s development. The subject of observation is Damien Carmeno, a 17 month-old Hispanic baby boy. Damien attends Porter Family daycare, he has been attending since he was 4 weeks old. Damien was brought to the Porter’s Family daycare by his mother at 7:30. He leapt from his mother’s arms to the arms of the daycare provider because he was used to being left at the daycare. He walked around and played with toys independently, showing his independence. At some point, Damien picked a book and started talking loud as if he was reading the book. Damien is just beginning to talk, and he kept saying the same few words he knew over and over.
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Damien saw a group of children building towers with blocks, he walked over there and knocked it down and started laughing. Then he started rebuilding it again and played with the other children. From the observation, Damien is a well-adjusted kid, he did not cry unless when he fell down or someone took his toy. He seemed to have made friends at the daycare, and he enjoyed most of the activities at the daycare. He enjoyed the ABC songs and nursery rhyme videos at the end of the day.
The interview with Damien’s parents, Danielle Carter and Paul Carmeno took place in Harada Park. Danielle has another son, a 9 year-old Chad Carter Jr, who is living with his biological father in Las Vegas. Danielle admits that her biggest challenge in parenting is balancing motherhood and a new career. Danielle does litigation in the Courts, and she often brings her work home to ensure everything is done correctly. Danielle lost the custody of his elder son after the courts ruled in favor of the father. Paul spanked Chad to discipline him, and this made the biological father sue for full custody. Paul claims that his biggest challenge was losing Chad, which has been very challenging to his relationship with Danielle. Nonetheless, the challenge has brought them closer as they communicate freely on how to discipline Damien.
Danielle believes that the most positive attitude about parenting is receiving unconditional love from her son. Even when she is not doing great at work or as a wife, her son still loves her. Being a first time father, Paul says that he is enjoying his experience as a father. He has learnt from his past experience with Chad on the do’s and don’t’s of parenting, and he believes he and Danielle will make the best decisions for Damien in the future. Paul appears very supportive of Danielle, and he steps in when Danielle is busy with work.
Danielle says that she was excited about being a parent to Damien, she was in a loving relationship with Paul when she got pregnant, unlike in her first pregnancy. She was emotionally ready to be a parent because Paul was very supportive. Danielle also said that being financially stable played a role, she was not worried about money unlike in her first pregnancy. Paul claims that he is not an emotional guy, rather he was prepared for the responsibility of being a father. He grew up in a loving family, where his father was very supportive of his mother, and he plans to be very supportive of Danielle.
From the observation and the interview, Damien was born into a happy and safe environment. Paul and Danielle are committed to each other, and they are building a healthy and supportive environment for Damien to grow up in. Damien is a very independent child, unless when his grandmother is around.
Theoretical Application and Praxis
According to Derksen (2010) ecological theory has been influential in the field of Child and youth care. Ecological theory shows that there are many factors affecting child care, and sometimes those factors are beyond the control of parents. To help the readers understand ecological theory better, Derksen (2010) defines the meaning of ecology as coined by Ernest Haeckel as, “...the study of organism-environment interrelatedness” (Derksen, 2010 p. 327). Bronfenbrenner critiqued childhood development experts for adopting a narrow perspective to the child’s world. He asserted that child care practice should be within the context of the family, community, sociocultural environment and even the political setting (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). Derksen (2010) notes that ecological theory has been very applicable to research on human development, and it is used by psychologists and social workers to understand children and the youth better.
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory is made up of five levels: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and chronosystem. Microsystem is the immediate environment for the child. Bronfenbrenner (1994) defines the microsystem as a pattern of activities, social roles and interpersonal relations experienced by the developing person. The microsystem entails structures such as family, school, daycare environment and the neighborhood. The home environment is the most important part of the microsystem, Damien’s interaction with his mother and father determines his development and how he interacts with others. Damien goes to Porter Family day care, hence this is another crucial part of the micro system.
Bronfenbrenner (1994) states that there are proximal processes that sustain development in the microsystem. Patterns that make up the proximal processes include play, learning new skills and reading. Damien portrays some of the proximal processes as he interacts with the microsystem. Damien enjoys playing, whether he is in daycare, at the park or at home with his parents. The microsystem also entails bi-directional influences, for instance a child can influence the parents' behavior, and the parents can also influence the child’s behavior. For instance, Danielle is not sad anymore when dropping Damien at the daycare because he has adjusted to the daycare. Damien jumps into the hands of the daycare provider, before engaging in endless play, making the life of her mother much easier as she does not have to worry about Damien. From the interview and observation, Damien’s microsystem is quite strong, Damien has healthy, reciprocal relationships with his parents, grandparents and also in the daycare.
The second layer is the mesosystem, it refers to the linkages and processes that take place between two or more settings that affect the developing person (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). Damien’s primary microsystem is home, and yet he spends 10 hours everyday in daycare. The value systems at home are different from those in the daycare. Damien’s parents are more likely to discipline him differently than in daycare. Nonetheless, the different value systems in the different micro system fosters development, it makes Damien and all-rounded individual who will adjust to different situations easily as he grows up. For instance, Damien’s parents are not religious per se, and they have not exposed Damien to religion, but the daycare plays a lot of religious songs such as “Jesus Love me” and “He has the Whole World in His Hand.”
The exosystem is made up of linkages and processes between two or more settings, and at least one of the settings does not affect the developing person (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). For instance, the relationship between a child and the parent’s workplace. Damien is indirectly affected by his mother’s work, Danielle sometimes brings her work home, and this limits the time she has with Damien.
Alternatively, the macro system is the pattern of the microsystem, meso and the exosystem of a given culture, lifestyle and life course options. Damien is a Latino in a middle class American neighborhood, given his parents’ living conditions. The cultural background, and his social class will affect his relationships in the course of his development.
Lastly, the chronosystem entails change or consistency in the environment over a period of time. Positive and negative changes will affect the child’s development in the future. Danielle and Paul have established a safe environment for Damien, and they hope to retain or improve on it. Positive changes will affect Damien’s development positively, but negative changes such as the change in family structure might have a negative effect on Damien’s development.
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory, How it Relates to Interview
The interview with Damien’s parents revealed practical applications of various aspects of Bronfenbrenner’s theory. Damien’s parents understood that it is their responsibility to provide the best microsystem for Damien because a microsystem plays a crucial part in the child’s development in comparison to other systems. When talking about her greatest parenting challenge, Danielle complained that balancing her demanding new career and parenting was hard. Danielle wants to be there for Damien all the time, but she has to work to provide for Damien’s needs. Paul, on the other hand states that the separation of Chad from his mother is probably his biggest challenge. This shows that the exosystem and chronosystem does affect families. The court’s decision to grant custody to Chad’s father means that Damien will grow up without a big brother.
Though Danielle and Paul are doing the best to create a stable environment for Damien, Bronfenbrenner argues that a child’s development is affected by a host of many factors. As Damien grows older, his interaction with other ecological layers aside from the microsystem will increase.
The interview, observation and the entire research process show that in order to understand a phenomenon, one must evaluate it from different angles. It acted as a reflection of the ecological theory, to understand different aspects about Damien’s development, a comprehensive research process that explored different aspects of Damien’s life was necessary. Observing Damien at the Porters Family daycare focused on a single aspect of Damien’s microsystem, necessitating another interview with Dam’en's parents who were open about their experiences raising Damien.
The primary concept in Bronfenbrenner’s theory is child development. It is a common concept in psychology, it focuses on how children and adults change over time. Various biological, social and cognitive theories have been formed to explain development in children. Bronfenbrenner’s approach to development is unique in that explores how various aspects of the ecological environment affect the child’s social, cognitive and biological development. Bronfenbrenner views instability and unpredictability in family life as a negative force in the child’s development. Without the constant interaction with parents and other important adults in the microsystem, the child might not learn to interact well with individuals in the other ecological systems.
A child’s development depends on the relationships in the microsystem. Children look for affirmations that should be present in the child/parent relationship. Deficiencies in the parent-child relationship could lead to antisocial behavior and lack of discipline as the child grows up. During the interview with Damien’s parents, Danielle appeared interested in seeing her child develop well. She was excited to be a parent, and she was grateful for Paul’s support. From her past experience with Chad, Danielle knew that raising a child without a supportive partner can be very challenging for both the mother and the child. Danielle had a completely different experience with Damien, she created an effective microsystem to allow Damien to develop well. Damien enjoys his time in Porter’s Family daycare, he enjoys his time at home as well as at his grandparents. Damien is a well adjusted boy as seen in his interactions in the daycare and at home. Paul also talked about discipline as an important aspect of Damien’s development, and he plans to instill discipline at a young age.
The biggest lesson from the interview is that a child’s development is a complex process, and it is the responsibility of parents to create the best environment for children to grow even at a young age. Children’s interaction with the immediate environment defines how children will interact with others. Danielle and Paul clearly loved Damien, but they did not pamper him. Damien was independent, he was not a typical pampered cry baby like most children today. When Danielle dropped Damien at the daycare, Damien did not cry for his mother, instead he ran to play. Evidently, parents play a big role in how children develop. Giving children the right attention, and some degree of independence fosters social, cognitive and emotional growth.
Bronfenbrenner’ ecological systems theory is also based on diversity. Bronfenbrenner explores diversity in the child’s environment, and how different environments are unique from the other (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). The home environment is quite unique from the daycare environment, and the child has to navigate all these environments as part of the development. Bronfenbrenner notes that as children develop, their interaction within the environment will be more complex. When the microsystem interacts with another microsystem, it leads to the creation of a mesosystem. Each system is characterized by unique attributes that the child has to be aware of, and adjust accordingly. Damien interacts primarily with the microsystem, but as he grows up, he will interact with other systems. Damien will soon learn about his Latino culture, and how it differentiates him from some his classmates and makes him similar to others. Damien will learn about his older brother, how her mother’s work schedule affects the family, among other new information. Individual development is influenced by diverse concepts within the family, society, culture, religion and the global society.
Both the application of Bronfenbrenner’s theory and the interview process have important lessons on communication. Effective communication is necessary when conducting an interview. Danielle and Paul were gracious enough to allow me to observe their child and interview them. Researchers have to create thoughtful interview questions that would reflect on ecological theory. For instance, the first interview question focused on the challenges of parenthood. This question would allow me to explore problems in the microsystem that could affect Damien’s development. Danielle was very open about the challenges of raising Damien, she felt that juggling a new career and motherhood was very hard. Danielle also opened up about losing the custody of her 9 year-old son. Effective communication is a prerequisite for any form of research. A researcher has to be mindful of what the respondents are saying, and adjust’s the questions accordingly. The interview process involved both Danielle and Paul, hence, each respondent required ample time to respond to the question.
The entire research process was a learning process too. The purpose of the research was to explore the application of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. Most theories are impractical because they cannot be implemented. However, Brofenbrenner’s theory is very applicable to childhood development as shown in the interview and observation report. Conducting a research is challenging, the researcher has to identify the subjects for the study, come up with research questions, interview questions, avail time for observation among other research activities. Research takes time and patience, and this process taught me the virtue of patience. Conducting a research does not end after proving that ecological systems theory is applicable, the research has to be presented in an effective way. The interview script, observation report, and the historical contexts are some of the sources that will be used to write a research paper.
In conclusion, child development is a common concept in psychology. This research aimed at showing the applicability of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. A child’s development depends on how the child interacts with different systems in the environment. The immediate system shapes the child in a big way, but other systems play important roles too. For instance, the mesosystem affects a child’s social development as it involves interactions of the Microsystems. Further research should be done on the specific ways that parents or adults in the microsystem can improve how the child interacts with other systems to foster positive development.
References
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). Ecological models of human development. Readings on the development of children , 2 , 37-43.
Derksen, T. (2010). The influence of ecological theory in child and youth care: A review of the literature. International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies , 1 (3/4), 326-339.
Ryan, J. (2001). Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological systems theory. Retrieved from: http://www.floridahealth.gov/alternatesites/cms- kids/providers/early_steps/training/documents/bronfenbrenners_ecological.pdf
