Introduction
Every individual should be aware that the way in which children develop is very significant. Every child develops differently from each other and all children cannot be given same treatment during their process of development. In order to get a clear understanding of the children and adolescents growth, an individual must have good knowledge on the human development model. This paper will clearly describe and analyze on the human development and also focus on the four systems of bioecological model of human development and the various differences between each system. According to the bioecological model, it states that human beings should not grow in seclusion but in relative to their school, family, community, society and their home. The model of human development was created and developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner so as to help people get a clear understanding of the beginning of the growth of human development.
Four Systems of Bioecological Development and their Influences on Child Development
According to Bronfenbrenner, there are four systems of bioecological human development. The theory focuses mostly on the development of children within the framework of the relationships system that form their environment. According to Bronfenbrenner, each system defines certain environmental layers which are very complex and they each have a certain effect on the development of a child. The theory has recently been called bioecological systems theory thus emphasizing that the biology of a child is a primary environment which helps to fuel his or her development. What normally influences the development of a child is the interaction between the children’s maturing biology factors, the landscape of the society and the environment. So as to clearly study the development of a child we must look at the larger environment interaction and the immediate environment.
The fact that development of humans is influenced by the genetics and the biology is not a new concept and has however become gradually more accepted that for this development the ecological systems also play a role. The systems of ecology generally focus on the interpersonal relationships an individual has with the surroundings. How a child learns and develops cognitively, emotionally and intellectually is effected by the environment of a child. Bronfenbrenner describes four different systems that are termed most influential in human development and these include the Microsystems, Mesosystems, Exosystems and Macrosystems
Microsystems
Microsystems are the smallest system of all the contexts. This is described as the stage where the information that the infants see and hear at their early childhood is completely rooted in them and it is created from the child’s environment. The Microsystems are made up of the societies and the individuals whom the child normally interacts with. Some of these include the teachers, immediate family members, friends and the childcare. Depending with the child’s age, the religious groups and the church can also be a part of the Microsystems. The age of the child helps base the Microsystems number and therefore it is clear that the younger the child is the smaller the Microsystems amount contained by a child. The Microsystems are said to be customary towards the layers of the Mesosystem. The schools, family and childcare environment are the major structures in the Microsystems. During this level there are two major directions that relationships have impacts and these include both toward the child and away from the child.
Mesosystems
The Mesosystem is a layer that is known to offer the connection between the child’s Microsystem structures. A good example is the connection that parents of the child have with the child’s teacher or between the child’s church and the parents or the neighborhoods also. In the Mesosystem we can be able to evaluate what the child can achieve from these relationships. A proper example is the relations that are created between the experiences at work and those of the family. For example, a child may be taught during his or her development on how to take good responsibility of themselves and also on how to work hard on these responsibilities. This is very effective since the child will grow up with proper skills. However, if the child is brought up without any responsibilities this might definitely affect his or her future achievements. He might end up dropping out of school and start circulating on the job market thus never staying in one job for a longer period of time.
Exosystems
The Exosystem is the largest layer of social system whereby the child does not function directly. In this system the child development is affected by the structure layers which interact with other structures in the child’s Microsystems. A good example of these structures is the community or family resources and the workplace of parents. It is clear that the child is not involved directly in this level but he however experiences the negative or positive forces which are normally involved with his own system’s interaction.
The Exosystem is used to reflect on the pressure towards the person on which he has no control. A good example is where every day the minority child rides on a bus to go to school for forty five minutes which in both ways is because of the new zoning partitions to the city. This clearly indicates that the child will be torn away from the peers whom he or she is comfortable with and from the school he or she is used to and taken to another school which is far away. This highly affects the child since the things that the child has grown to be familiar with do not exist anymore. And thus he is forced to take other connections which he or she is not familiar with. The child may also be affected due to the idea that the school has a different curriculum which might be behind or further ahead of the previous school and thus making it difficult for the child to catch up with the rest of the student. If the child has already covered those topics he or she ends up getting bored. This might discourage the child a lot especially if they have to start from scratch when it comes to creating and developing relations with the teachers and the peers and will affect the child more if they are distant or shy.
Macrosystem
In regards to the environment of a child, Macrosystems are considered the outermost layers. Though not being a specific structure this layer consist of customs, laws and values. The larger principles effects which are well defined by the Macrosystem have a falling influence throughout other layers interactions. An example indicates that if it is the cultures’ belief that the child’s parents should be completely responsible in raising their own child, that kind of culture is not likely to help parents by providing resources. This will then end up affecting the structures where the parents function and thus affect the inability or the ability of the parents to carry out effective responsibility on their children within child’s Microsystems context which is also affected.
The Macrosystem fully involves the culture where the people live. When we speak of the United States then we are speaking of the society of America though it requires further evaluation. A good example is where it clearly indicates that descent Asians contain greater and higher achievements compared to Spanish ancestry. The Macrosystem is said to have a trickledown effect on the other systems of human development. For instance, the upcoming laws in the city may instill the Exosystem new zoning laws. The government sometimes divides the neighborhoods into various zones through a technique known as cracking. This is sometimes done due to the fear of a certain candidate winning and thus they have the knowledge that the minority neighborhoods principally vote for those candidates who look like the runner. This may normally lead to shipping of the child in another school on the other side of the neighborhood.
Similarly, the Macrosystem affects the Mesosystem. For example, if an Asian child is raised and the family makes him or her believe in determination and hard work as the proper way to succeed he will definitely make it in life successfully. The reason being that Asians are well known for the scholastic achievements which have been incredible for a long time and it is normally the impact of the culture of Asia (Macrosystem) on the affairs that the child will hold inside the Microsystems (Mesosystem)
Differences of the Systems
The systems of bioecological human development differ in various ways. The Microsystems differ from the rest of the systems since they consist of the interactions and activities in the environment of an individual. The structures in this system are known as neighborhoods, environments of the childcare and the immediate families and these are quite different from other structures of other systems. The Macrosystems are different from other systems since it is the level of outside of the structure. According to Bronfenbrennor, this level doesn’t have a specific subject but has a variety of influences which consist of customs, cultural values, resources, and laws. There is no other system in the human development with these structures and thus the difference among the four systems.
The Exosystem is totally different from the rest of the systems because it is normally made up of settings which are said to be social and do not have the developing individual though they affect the experiences in the people’s immediate functions. The Exosystem is different from other systems since it is the outer surrounding shell in the Microsystem and the Mesosystem. Exosystems are said to support both the informal and the formal environments compared to other systems. Mesosystem is different from other systems in that it connects the structures of the Microsystem. The environment of the child associates the child with its direct surrounding.
Outside Influences that Impact Development of a Child
It is said that our other children raise our children. As parents and guardians measure their every word carefully so as not to hurt or disappoint the feelings of others through their verbal communication, the siblings maybe indulging in verbal abuse with each other as their means of communication. Siblings are said to be other experiences in the development of children. They influence the behaviors and communications of the child development and end up impacting them in various ways. It is clear that the first group of children helps in raising the new batch.
The school id also recognized as another key outside influence. The teachers may contain various and different ways of rearing a child comparing to those of the parent. According to some observations, the teachers way of managing the classrooms go very differently with those of the parents or guardians and they end up disagreeing on certain matters since the parent may find some techniques unacceptable.
The peer group of the child is another major outside influence that affects his or her development in life. The family members also have their own effect of impact on the child growth. The communities in the neighborhoods also leave a mark for the child and impact them in various ways. As if that is not enough, it is so clear that the world is big and contains various expressions through magazines, media and advertisements and books. These provide a lot of influence on the child development at the current world and parents have a huge task to perform and prevent their children from copying the celebrity styles. Those who take care of the child including the nannies and other household stuff have influence on the child development also and end up teaching the kids various behaviors and models either directly or indirectly. These outside influences can either affect the child’s development negatively or positively by adding to the parents proper input. However, the outside influences can also leave a negative impact on the children who go against the parent’s values and those messages that the parents are trying to impart their child from so hard.
It is however known that the biggest outside influence in a child is the genetic inheritance which means the character traits that children are born with. Despite what the parent or other people are trying to teach a child, the characteristics of genes can lead a child to a different direction. Sometimes the parents are forced to watch helplessly as their children are swept away by the influential wave of physiology, neurology and chemistry and all this is not in their hands. Economic factors can also be an outside influence on the child development.
According to various studies, it is clear that those children who are found in areas of poverty have difficult times socializing compared to other children who live in comfortable environments. There are several factors which can be the cause of these behaviors and differences but the major factor is the fact that the community has limited access to social information compared to other communities. Fun and exciting experiences is offered in those communities which have comfortable economic demographic and this gives room to socializing. This is normally done by the organizations but in economic tight communities the residents lack enough finances to support such functions, athletic opportunities and children’s club.
Examples of Relationships and Interactions of the Four Systems
The theory of ecology takes into concern the significance of the relationships which are created between the community and the children and how the communal relations affect the child in terms of influences and perceptions, culture and also the systems which are evolving. There are various examples of relationships and interactions that are created and developed by the four systems and some of them include relationship between the children and the teachers. During the development of a child, there contacts that the child makes with the teacher and these leads to creation and development of a relationship since the teacher acts as the guardian when the child is in school and the mother is not around. This relationship and interaction can either impact the behaviors of the child either positively or negatively.
Children and families: In this relationship, the parents of the child can affect the behaviors and beliefs of a child and the child can also end up impacting the behaviors and beliefs of the parent. The interaction and the relationship between the parents and the child are the most influential relation in the development of a child. According to Bronfenbrenner, the relations between the parents and the child and the influences are called bi-directional influences and he clearly describes how they normally occur in all environmental levels. The strongest bi-directional influences occur in the level of Microsystem and they are said to have the highest effect on the child.
Romantic Relationships: During the growth of a child it gets to a level where the children starts creating and developing romantic relationships. These are relationships which become more intimate mostly during the adolescents stages and they tend to increase the time of leisure which is normally spent interacting with the peers.
In conclusion, bioecological model of human development has four major systems which include Exosystem, Mesosystem, Microsystems and Macrosystems. The systems differ from each other and impact the development of a child in one way or the other. It is clear that the structures in these systems help in creation and development of relations for the child as he or she develops. The children are either affected directly or indirectly according to the system and this can impact a child positively or negatively. However, there are other outside influences that are known to impact the child’s development which consist of the siblings, the economy and others.
References
BRONFENBRENNER, U. E., & MORRIS, P. A. (2004). The Bioecological Model of Human Development. Columbia.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. In U. Bronfenbrenner, The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design (pp. 8-19). New York: Havard University Press.
Radcliffe, S. C. (2011). OUTSIDE INFLUENCES. Retrieved April 11, 2012, from Parenting-advice .net: http://www.parenting-advice.net/parents/outside_influences.html
Rodin, J., & Langer, E. J. (1977). Long-term effects of a control-relevant intervention with the institutionalized aged. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 897–902.
ZIMMER-GEMBECK, M. J. (2002). The Development of Romantic Relationships and Adaptations in the System of Peer Relationships. JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH , 216-225.
