Ella Ekstrom
Edpsy 302
4/23/2021
Week 4: Reflection on Resilience
All four of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems can greatly affect the resilience of a
child. Resilience is an “adaptive response to serious hardship” (Harvard Inbrief). Specifically, the
two we will be discussing are the mesosystem and the exosystem.
The mesosystem is the second level, in which the individual is interacting with the
environment, like at their daycare, other children, and their home for a few examples. It involves
the connections that are shared among the environments the child is around. As an example
given by the textbook, the academic progress by a child involves more than the “activities that
take place in classrooms but also on parent involvement in school life and on the extent to which
academic learning is carried over into the home” (Textbook). Safe spaces and connections are
key within the mesosystem in aiding a child’s resilience.
The exosystem is the next level out on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system theory. The
exosystem isn’t the system where children are directly affected, but rather where they can be
indirectly affected because of how it can affect their caregivers or the people around them. For
example, “parents’ workplaces, their religious institutions, and community health and welfare
services” are all systems that would fall under the exosystem level (Textbook). Factors that affect
the people that care for children can deeply affect the resilience and development of a child.
In terms of things that we can do as a society to support at the mesosystem level,
fostering safe environments where the child occupies like home, school, playgrounds etc, is vital
because they directly interact with these areas. Some examples of positive ways we can create
safe environments are supporting government programs that ensure that parks and playgrounds
are kept clean and safe for children, creating good training programs for those in childcare,
requiring certain licenses to work with kids, and raising the minimum wage so that parents with
low-income jobs can afford to create a safe home environment. These are just a few examples of
many things that could be done to push for a strong and safe mesosystem.
When it comes to the exosystem, as discussed earlier it is more about the factors that may
affect the lives of the caregivers. Sometimes this can be hard if the caregiver is very busy, or
doesn’t feel like they have enough energy mentally to get involved. This is where the support for
the caregivers is really important. Having family or friends check in on the parents and provide
relief is vital in allowing the parents to take a step back and focus on themselves for a small
break so that when they are with their child again they have more energy and feel like they are
more in a place where they can be involved. Everything from education and awareness to
after-school programs to help with childcare to family therapy can be helpful in creating a strong
and healthy exosystem. This can also include things like employers and the government
providing more “flexible work schedules, paid maternity and paternity leave, and sick leave for
parents whose children are ill” (Textbook). Helping parents and caregivers, in turn, help their
children. It is also important to consider that the care and help that people receive in the United
States is not equal or equitable. As Statnews talks about, for example, black women are much
more likely to have complications in childbirth not for any biological reason, but only because
they are less likely to have their symptoms taken seriously, and are oftentimes dismissed
(Statnews). In order to create safe health services, which make up part of the exosystem, these
kinds of discrepancies in healthcare must be addressed directly and systems must be put in place
to minimize and stop the effects of racism in the industry.