This essay will give a brief description of Urie Bronfenbrenner contribution to the psychology. It will assess Bronfenbrenner ecological theory of development. It will examine the Bronfenbrenner Ecological Model of Human Development how each of the five systems form a child’s personal development.
The document will identify which of Bronfenbrenner systems had the greatest impact on this scholar’s individual’s growth. It will evaluate the effects of the ecological theory in regard to what prompted this scholar’s decision to enter a graduate program in Mental Health Counseling. It will state which system Bronfenbrenner thought was most important.Bronfenbrenner AnalysisAccording to New World Encyclopedia, Urie Bronfenbrenner was a Russian-born, American-Psychologist. At the age of 6, his family moved to the United States. His father, Dr.
Alexander Bronfenbrenner was a clinical pathologist and research director for the New York Institution for the Mentally Retarded. Bronfenbrenner attended Cornell University, where he completed a double major in psychology and music in 1938. He obtained an M.A in developmental psychology at Harvard University, followed by a Ph.D.
from the University of Michigan in 1942. Urie was known for his work in child development and a co-founder of the Head Start program in the United States for underprivileged pre-school children. Dr. Bronfenbrenner developed his Ecological Systems Theory of Human Development which had a great impact on the way psychologists and other social scientists viewed the study of child development and their environments.
This methodology explains how everything in a child and the child’s environment affects how they grow and progress though life. In 1979, Bronfenbrenner constructed the Ecological Model. The model is depicted in layers which refer the levels of the environment and the child is the center of these layers. The systems have a directly and indirectly influences on a child’s development and that growth.
And, because we live in an imperfect world, those layers can have a negative or positive affect on the child.Ecological ModelThe Ecological Model of Human Develop identifies five systems (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998):1.Microsystems – are the individuals and organizations that directly with the child. Such as parents, siblings, teachers, peers, or church, etc.2.
Mesosystems – relates to the dealings of the individuals in the microsystems but does not have direct contact with the child. Such as neighbors interacting with each other.3.Exosystems - are the individuals, institutions, and communities that doesn’t have direct contact with the child but have affect in his or her life. Such as mass media, family friends, extended family, etc.
For example, parents divorcing or re-marring.4.Macro system – refers to the customs, values, laws, and attitudes of the culture.5.Chronosystem – this system is a result of the child’s experiences in his life and the effects created by time. Such as War or the American deficit.
Levels of InfluencesThis learner was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. She live in the Valisburg section of Newark which was considered middle-class. She just recall her mother putting in long hours at the Hospital. The learner’s microsystem consisted of her schizophrenic step-father, (who choked her at the age of 5, for hitting her brother); a baby-sister, a baby-brother, maternal grandmother, a step-grand-father (who fondled her body parts in her sleep), and an alcoholic uncle.At the age 4, I graduated from the Head Start program.
My mom was only 18 years, unemployed, and no high school diploma. She could not afford day care and my natural father was an estranged alcoholic was did not pay child support. The Mesosystems level had the greatest impact on this learner’s development. At age 7, her mother divorced, remarried an addict/Blues singer with his own business.
Her step-father raped her when she was 11 years old at the new home she relocated to with hem mom and year siblings. Her status from the oldest sibling moved to the middle child.She had a step-sister 7 years older, a step-sister 4 years older, a step-brother 2 years older and a step-sister 2 years younger. At the age of 14, her mother divorced and they returned to her grandmother home.
Again, the family unit changed. It was her grandmother, mother, step-brother, step-sister, natural sister, and natural brother living in the home. Let’s not forget the alcoholic uncle. And, at the age of 17, her mother remarried for the third time to a man who thought he was still a sergeant in the army.Great emphasis was placed on education was of the all throughout the learner’s life. All seven children attended parochial school.
Her teachers and family members gave her great praise for her academic achievements. While her step-sisters mocked and beat her out of jealousy for being an over-achiever. The learner was an extrovert in school and an introvert at home. College was not an option for the learner it was expected of her. She would be the first college graduate in the family.
In the Exosystems, the learner attended church three times a week and learned about her Baptist religious values which are instilled in her ‘til this day. She sung in the church and sometimes as a background singer in the music studios for extra money. All the children in the neighborhood had extra-curriculum activities after school or jobs. Some of the peers who attended public school would tease those who were Catholic School uniforms, “like it was a cure or something”. She engaged in neighborhood block parties with diverse cultures and participated in democratic campaigns while growing up.
It was a strong knit community. The neighborhoods knew each by name. She also was the official family and neighborhood baby-sitter.The learner’s macrosystem was exposed to such a multicultural neighborhood, she began to question her own values system and religious practices.
She questioned imposing laws and why they exist, she exercised her right of freedom. Therefore, the learner studied ethnic groups, their religions and participated in the service of worship. And, she is an advocate for domestic violence and rape victims. As result of 911, the learner now celebrates and embraces her American heritage as well as her African culture.In the last system, Chronosystem is the learner’s personal experiences.
In addition, “it is the patterning of the environmental events and transitions over the life course, as well as sociohistorical circumstances” (Lang, 2005, p. 1). Being diagnosed with manic depression at the age of 17 (known today as Bipolar Disorder) was a life changing event for the learner. Her relationships in the microsystem had the greatest impact on her personality development. Life was harmful and emotionally hurtful for the learner which has causes her to display destructive behaviors throughout her adult life.
The leaner is a 43 year old female, married with five children. Her husband is currently serving a 10 year sentence with the Department of Correction in Georgia. Her children’s ages are as follows: 21 year old son; 17 year old son, 16 year old son, 15 year old son, and a 9 year old daughter. All of whom presently reside with their grandparents in Louisville, Georgia.
The learners’ children live with her parents because of her three Suicide attempts and instability when off her meds. The learner is well educated and has good work ethics experiences. She is a law abiding citizen. She is compassionate toward her fellow man and will fight for inequalities though the use of sit ends, picketing, and exercise her voting power. Because she knows first-hand what it feels like to be violated and helpless.
Graduate SchoolThe learner’s decision to become a Mental Health Counselor is influenced by several factors. She believes that mental illness is more than just a chemical imbalance. She believes if her natural father had not been dependent on alcohol, he would have been able to safeguard her from the sexual abusers, family bullies, and emotional scarring that is displayed in many of her decisions and actions today. She believes, “predators prey on the weak and innocent because daddy is not around”, no one to shield them from the environmental pillagers of this culture. The learner is particularly interested in working with male inmates with co-occurring disorders or addictions.Most men are not taught to share their feelings or express their emotion turmoil and as a result many undergo undiagnosed and without treatment.
The American culture along with their family members; have taught men throughout their childhood not to cry and stand on your own two feet. So, many of them never learn to ask help or even know how to ask. And, drugs/alcohol has become their anesthetic.Substance Abuse is an epidemic in American society and the healing has to start with the heads of households “Man”. Women have tried to raise families by themselves but reality is “it’s a two man job along with the help of the villagers”.
By furthering, her education, she believes she is helping herself and society. The learner can become financial stable, her professional and personal experiences to help incarcerated men.ConclusionUrie Bronfenbrenner was the first to take a holistic approach to child development and emphasized on how the social environments influence all five levels of the ecological system. It is the combinations of social issues, environmental influences, ethnic identity, and socio-Cultural components, along with genetic pre-dispositions that shape personality and certain behaviors that are displayed adulthood (Bronfenbrenner, 2004, p.
1). This leaner is a product of her environment and she is ever evolving and growing as a result of these systems that are intertwined.
