Download Social Ecological Model www.AssignmentPoint.com Socio

Social Ecological Model
www.AssignmentPoint.com
www.AssignmentPoint.com
Socio-ecological models were developed to further the understanding of the
dynamic interrelations among various personal and environmental factors.
Socioecological models were introduced to urban studies by sociologists
associated with the Chicago School after the First World War as a reaction to
the narrow scope of most research conducted by developmental psychologists.
These models bridge the gap between behavioral theories that focus on small
settings and anthropological theories that analyze larger settings.
Introduced as a conceptual model in the 1970s, formalized as a theory in the
1980s, and continually revised by Bronfenbrenner until his death in 2005, Urie
Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Framework for Human Development applies
socioecological models to human development. In his initial theory,
Bronfenbrenner postulated that in order to understand human development, the
entire ecological system in which growth occurs needs to be taken into account.
In subsequent revisions, Bronfenbrenner acknowledged the relevance of
biological and genetic aspects of the person in human development.
From systems thinking to socioecological models
A system can be defined as a comparatively bounded structure consisting of
interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements that form a whole. Systems
thinking argues that the only way to fully understand something or an
occurrence is to understand the parts in relation to the whole. Thus, systems
thinking, which is the process of understanding how things influence one
another within a whole, is central to ecological models. Generally, a system is a
community situated within an environment. Examples of systems are health
systems, education systems, food systems, and economic systems.
www.AssignmentPoint.com
Drawing from natural ecosystems which are defined as the network of
interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment,
social ecology is a framework or set of theoretical principles for understanding
the dynamic interrelations among various personal and environmental factors.
Social ecology pays explicit attention to the social, institutional, and cultural
contexts of people-environment relations. This perspective emphasizes the
multiple dimensions (example: physical environment, social and cultural
environment, personal attributes), multiple levels (example: individuals, groups,
organizations), and complexity of human situations (example: cumulative
impact of events over time). Social ecology also incorporates concepts such as
interdependence and homeostasis from systems theory to characterize reciprocal
and dynamic person-environment transactions.
Individuals are key agents in ecological systems. From an ecological
perspective, the individual is both a postulate (a basic entity whose existence is
taken for granted) and a unit of measurement. As a postulate, an individual has
several characteristics. First he requires access to an environment, upon which
he/she is dependent for knowledge. Second, he is interdependent with other
humans; that is, is always part of a population and cannot exist otherwise. Third,
he is time bound, or has a finite life cycle. Fourth, he has an innate tendency to
preserve and expand life. Fifth, he has capacity for behavioral variability. Social
ecological models are thus applicable to the processes and conditions that
govern the lifelong course of human development in the actual environment in
which human beings live. Urie Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Framework for
Human Development is considered to be the most recognized and utilized social
ecological model (as applied to human development). Ecological systems theory
www.AssignmentPoint.com
considers a child's development within the context of the systems of relationship
that form his or her environment.
Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework for human development
Bronfenbrenner's ecological framework for human development was first
introduced in the 1970s as a conceptual model and became a theoretical model
in the 1980s. Two distinct phases of the theory can be identified.
Bronfenbrenner[8] stated that "it is useful to distinguish two periods: the first
ending with the publication of the Ecology of Human Development (1979), and
the second characterized by a series of papers that called the original model into
question." Bronfenbrenner's initial theory illustrated the importance of place to
aspects of the context, and in the revision, he engaged in self-criticism for
discounting the role a person plays in his or her own development while
focusing too much on the context. Although revised, altered, and extended, the
heart of Bronfenbrenner's theory remains the ecological-stressing personcontext interrelatedness.
Ecological systems theory
In his original theory, Bronfenbrenner postulated that in order to understand
human development, the entire ecological system in which growth occurs needs
to be taken into account. This system is composed of five socially organized
subsystems that support and guide human development. Each system depends
on the contextual nature of the person's life and offers an evergrowing diversity
of options and sources of growth. Furthermore, within and between each system
are bi-directional influences. These bi-directional influences imply that
www.AssignmentPoint.com
relationships have impact in two directions, both away from the individual and
towards the individual.
Because we potentially have access to these subsystems we are able to have
more social knowledge, an increased set of possibilities for learning problem
solving, and access to new dimensions of self-exploration.
Microsystem
The microsystem is the layer closest to the child and contains the structures with
which the child has direct contact. The microsystem encompasses the
relationships and interactions a child has with his or her immediate
surroundings such as family, school, neighborhood, or childcare environments.
At the microsystem level, bi-directional influences are strongest and have the
greatest impact on the child. However, interactions at outer levels can still
impact the inner structures. This core environment stands as the child's venue
for initially learning about the world. As the child's most intimate learning
setting, it offers him or her a reference point for the world. The microsystem
may provide the nurturing centerpiece for the child or become a haunting set of
memories. The real power in this initial set of interrelations with family for the
child is what they experience in terms of developing trust and mutuality with
their significant people. The family is the child's early microsystem for learning
how to live. The caring relations between child and parents (or other caregivers)
can help to influence a healthy personality. For example, the attachment
behaviors of parents offer children their first trust-building experience.
Mesosystem
www.AssignmentPoint.com
The mesosystem moves us beyond the dyad or two-party relation. Mesosystems
connect two or more systems in which child, parent and family live.
Mesosystems provide the connection between the structures of the child's
microsystem. For example, the connection between the child's teacher and his
parents, between his church and his neighborhood, each represent mesosystems.
Exosystem
The exosystem defines the larger social system in which the child does not
directly function. The structures in this layer impact the child's development by
interacting with some structure in his/her microsystem. Parent workplace
schedules or community-based family resources are examples. The child may
not be directly involved at this level, but they do feel the positive or negative
force involved with the interaction with their own system. The main exosystems
that indirectly influence youth through their family include: school and peers,
parents' workplace, family social networks and neighborhood community
contexts, local politics and industry. Exosystems can be empowering (example:
a high quality child-care program that benefits the entire family) or they can be
degrading (example: excessive stress at work impacts the entire family).
Furthermore, absence from a system makes it no less powerful in a life. For
example, many children realise the stress of their parent's workplaces without
ever physically being in these places.
Macrosystem
The macrosystem is composed of cultural values, customs and laws. It refers to
the overall patterns of ideology and organization that characterize a given
society or social group. Macrosystems can be used to describe the cultural or
www.AssignmentPoint.com
social context of various societal groups such as social classes, ethnic groups, or
religious affiliates. This layer is the outermost layer in the child's environment.
The effects of larger principles defined by the macrosystem have a cascading
influence throughout the interactions of all other layers. The macrosystem
influences what, how, when and where we carry out our relations. For example,
a program like Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) may positively impact a
young mother through health care, vitamins, and other educational resources. It
may empower her life so that she, in turn, is more affective and caring with her
newborn. In this example, without an umbrella of beliefs, services, and support
for families, children and their parents are open to great harm and deterioration.
In a sense, the macrosytem that surrounds us helps us to hold together the many
threads of our lives.
Chronosystem
The chronosystem encompasses the dimension of time as it relates to a child's
environment. Elements within this system can be either external, such as the
timing of a parent's death, or internal, such as the physiological changes that
occur with the aging of a child. Family dynamics need to be framed in the
historical context as they occur within each system. Specifically, the powerful
influence that historical influences in the macrosystem have on how families
can respond to different stressors. Bronfenbrenner suggests that, in many cases,
families respond to different stressors within the societal parameters existent in
their lives.
www.AssignmentPoint.com