Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory of

Development






Ecological theory of human development by Bronfenbrenner

The micro system: This is the settings in which a person lives in, this micro system includes the family, peer
group, neighborhood and school life, this system helps shape a person's development through direct contact..
The nature of this system is that the individuals who have direct contact with the agent will aid in the
construction of the settings of this system.

The Meso System: This system is the relationship between the Microsystems. The Microsystems interrelate
with each other and this can be seen with the relationship between school life, the neighborhood and the family.
An example is where the peer groups may distort performance of an individual in school or even the
relationship of an individual with his family.


The exosystem: In this system the individual has no active role in determining the settings but the settings have
direct influence on the individual. An example is where the government will build schools which will create a
micro system environment. Also a parent may be layed off from work and this will result to certain outcomes to
the family. An example are low income levels leading to the lack of basic needs in the family.

The Macro system: This is the system that is caused by the ideology in the society or the culture of thesociety,
this influences the individual directly but the individual has less in determining his settings, this for example
include ideologies such as democracy, capitalism and socialism, another example of the macro system
is religion which may include Christianity, and Islam.

The chronosystem: This system is the last system that Bronfenbrenner developed, this system develops as a
result of a person's experience in his life, this includes environmental events and transitions in an individuals
life. This also includes the history of an individual and the events that happen to them in daily life.