Introduction
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory rests on the foundation that the environment in which a child grows has a profound effect on the development of the child. This therefore means that the end product of a child from the time of birth to the time the child becomes an adult is heavily or entirely dependent on the surroundings of the child. The environment is not one big void but a set of pieces or levels (Eicher & Erekosima 1997, pp.413-417). All these levels affect the development of the child and therefore shape behavior.
Bronfenbrenner’s Environment
According to Bronfenbrenner, the environment is divided into a number of areas or levels which are described as systems. These divisions include the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and the chronosystem. The microsystem is the atmosphere that is in direct contact with the developing child (Tissington 2008, pp.106-110).There is no barrier or preventive or protective wall between the child and the microsystem.
Elements of the microsystem include the family members who carry out certain tasks with the child, the school that the child attends, and the members of the wider society with whom the child interacts at a close level in the process of its development.
The interactions that the child engages in at the microsystem level of development are mainly two dimensional. The main characteristic of the relationship here is that the child ends up getting affected by the parents who take care of him or her and the members of the society the child comes into contact with to a very high degree. The child also affects the parents as well as the rest of the members of the society who he or she comes into contact with. But this is to a small degree given that fact that it is mostly the child who learns from the adults and not the other way round. (Fogel 2007, pp.11-13).
Leaving the above aside, the mesosystem is the series of connections that link the items that make up the microsystem level. As it has already been mentioned, the parents of the child and the school that the child attends are part and parcel of the child’s microsystem.The connection between these two elements of the microsystem give us what we classify as the mesosystem, according to Bronfenbrenner. The function of the mesosystem is to provide a point of overlap or interconnection among the individual constituents of the microsystem as a way of ensuring that the developing child undergoes the right behavioral transformation. This is a link that the child cannot do without.
Moving from the above, the mesosystem is followed by a larger sphere of operation that is known as the exosystem, which according to Bronfenbrenner represents a more complex operational ground. Here, the developing child has no role to play but what takes place at this level ends up having an impact in the child. This effect is as a result of the influence the exosystem has on some elements of the child’s microsystem.
For example if a father of a child works in a local bank that has an environment that stresses him, this stress from the workplace will affect the child eventually. Since the stressful banking environment subjects the father of the child to too much stress, by the time he reaches home, he is not willing to cuddle the child. The father’s behavior stresses the child as well. The child is not at the local banking atmosphere but it is getting affected by events that are going on there.
Apart from the above, the next level is the microsystem.The is an even larger area of operation whereby neither the child nor the parents can independently lay claim in its management. It is shaped and guided by the larger society and impacts on the individual elements in return. The rules and norms that exist in communities, the laws that are enacted to guide behavior in society, and the long running cultural practices are parts of this larger level of operation that Bronfenbrenner described as the microsystem.The nature of most human societies is a reflection of the quality of their macrosystem. In other words, the quality of societal norms determines the general quality of life in a society. Backward norms always produce individuals with developmental problems who make little out of their lives.
The last level in the ecological system theory as developed by Bronfenbrenner is the chronosystem. The chronosystem refers to the time within which all the interactions in the other systems take place. Technically, the absence of the chronosystem means absence of interaction. The developing child needs time in each and every system or level as a means of getting properly affected by the features of that system, and therefore gaining all the elements that are required for functionality.
The Way in Which Bronfenbrenner’s Levels Shaped My Life
From the Bronfenbrenner levels or systems as brought out in his theory, it is definite that my life falls within the provisions of the theory.
To start with, at the time of birth, I was able to come face to face with my parents who are the first set of elements of the microsystem. As a female child; I inevitably affected the lives of my parents in some special way. On the other hand, I was able to grow and pick aspects of behavior from my parents. For example I have always admired my parents’ hard working nature. I therefore picked up this character trait, and it has made me achieve a good measure of success in my academic life particularly and in life generally. The urge to succeed in life is another feature that is present in my parents that has affected me too.
This is why I made a choice to pursue a masters degree in education as a way of making myself more competitive and therefore accessing more opportunities (Bronfenbrenner 1979,pp.45-48).My second masters degree in mental health counseling is out of my desire to help people with mental problems; an issue that is gaining more prominence in the modern world.
Leaving the above aside, the relationship between my parents and some of the people who have lived in areas we lived always had an effect on my life. A conflict between my parents and any of our neighbors always resulted in tension in the family. This made my parents keep to themselves, and the result was that I never got the warm embraces that were common when such tension was inexistent. Workplace and other societal issues also created a heavy atmosphere at home since my parents came home while thinking about these unresolved issues at their places of work or social venues, and all these had an impact on how they related with me.
Thus as much as I was not in direct contact with my parents’ surroundings, what they experienced ended up having an effect on my life as a child. This is an appropriate caption of the exosystem an explained by Bronfenbrenner. The rules of the society in which I live also have shaped my life. For example killing someone is not acceptable and this has made me develop a strong regard for human life. In total, all this is happening through time and this is where the chronosystem comes in (Slee 2002, pp.23-25).
My professional life is also a display of the characteristics of the mesosystem. The discussions I have to hold with other members of the profession and the decisions that are made from time to time all show how the interconnections in life still play through the other systems or levels.Th relationships that I make with the people I meet on a daily basis throughout my adult life as a professional and a masters student have an impact on my life. I have little choice in determining the happenings around me since I have to be art of society. All that I can do is alter parts of my behavior so as to make the best out of each situation
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is clear from Bronfenbrenner that the environment has a profound effect in shaping a child’s life. The microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem the macrosystem, and the chronosystem are the major levels of interaction. All these levels have played out in shaping my life right from the time I was born to my current level as an adult.
References
Bronfenbrenner, U., (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. New York: Harvard University Press.
Eicher, B.J., & Erekosima, V.T. (1997). Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Model and the Use of Imported Madras Cloth among the Kalabari. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 25 (4), 412-431.
Fogel, A. (2007). Infancy: Infant, Family, and Society (4th ed.). New York: Sloan Educational Publishing.
Slee, P.T. (2002). Child, Adolescent and Family Development. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Tissington, L.D. (2008). A Bronfenbrenner Ecological Perspective on the Transition to Teaching for Alternative Certification. Journal of Instructional Psychology. 35(1), 106-110.