Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological
Systems Theory
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Urie Bronfenbrenner
• Born in Russia
• Immigrated to the US at age 6
• Enlisted in the US army immediately after
completing his PhD
• Co-founder of the Head Start program
– Designed to serve at-risk nursery students to
prepare them for school
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Ecological Systems Theory
• Development is the result of the relationships between people and
their environments
– Cannot evaluate a child’s development only in the immediate
environment
– Must also examine the interactions among the larger environments
that a child develops in
• Key Question: How does the world around the child help or hinder
development?
• Four layers of relationships that influence a child’s development
– Microsystem: Relationships with direct contact to the child
– Mesosystem: Connection between relationships of child’s
microsystem
– Exosystem: Structures in which child the child does not have direct
contact
– Macrosystem: Cultural context
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Microsystem
• Microsystem: Variables that the child is directly
exposed to
– Relationships: Family, school, religious institution,
neighbors
• Family: Most influential and durable influence on child
– Environment: Geographic, Material structures
– Child’s body
•
•
•
•
General health
Brain functioning – physiological and psychological
Emotions
Cognitive System
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Microsystem
• Microsystem: Variables that the child is directly
exposed to
– Relationships: Family, school, religious institution,
neighbors
• Family: Most influential and durable influence on child
– Environment: Geographic, Material structures
– Child’s body
•
•
•
•
General health
Brain functioning – physiological and psychological
Emotions
Cognitive System
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Microsystem
• Most of the child’s behavior is learned in the
microsystem.
• The microsystem consists of bi-directional
influences
– Parents actively shape the development of the child
– Children actively shape their environment
• Personal attributes influence responses from other people
• Children actively select and avoid specific environments

Bi-directional relationships are the foundation for a
child’s cognitive and emotional growth
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Mesosystem
• Mesosystem: Interconnections between the
microsystems
– Examples
• Interactions between the family and teachers
• Relationship between the child’s peers and the family
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Exosystem
• Exosystem: Institutions of society that
indirectly affect a child’s development
– Examples
• Parent’s workplace
• Funding for education
• Impacts a child’s development by influencing
structures in the microsystem
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Macrosystem
• Macrosystem: Cultural context
– Provides the values, beliefs, customs, and laws of
the culture in which a child grows up
• Influences how parents, teachers, and others raise a
child
• May be conscious or unconscious
– Influences the societal values, legislation, and
financial resources provided by a society to help
families function
– Influences the interactions of all other layers
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Ecological Systems Theory
• Properties of the four layers of relationships
– Each layer of the environment is complex
– Each layer has an effect on a child’s development
– Conflict within any layer ripples throughout other
layers
• As a child develops, interaction within
environments becomes more complex
– Complexity is the result of the maturation of a
child’s physical and cognitive structures
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Ecological Systems Theory
• Five propositions that describe how home and
school relationships work together for positive
development
1. Child must have an ongoing, long-term mutual
interaction with an adult characterized by
unconditional love and support
2. The child-adult relationship provides the pattern of
interpersonal relationships with all of the child’s
other relationships. The confidence from this
relationship allows a child to explore and grow from
other activities.
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Ecological Systems Theory
• Five propositions, continued.
3. Interactions with other adults enables the child to
develop a more positive relationship in the primary
child-adult relationship.
4. The primary child-adult relationship improves with
repeated two-way interchanges and mutual
compromise.
5. Relationships between child and adults require the
society to support the importance of these roles.
•
Public policies must provide time and resources for childadult relationships to be nurtured.
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Ecological Systems Theory
• Instability and unpredictability in modern family
life is the most destructive force in child’s
development
– Because of demands within the workplace, children
do not have constant mutual interactions with
important adults that are necessary for development
– If relationships in the microsystem break down, the
child will not have tools to explore other parts of the
environment
– Children without a strong primary relationship will
find affirmation in inappropriate places, particularly in
the adolescence years
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Ecological Systems Theory
• Technology has changed society
– Society does not provide resources to protect
children and adults from the potential negative
outcomes of technology
 The best interest of society is to lobby for political
and economic policies that support the importance
of a parent’s role in their child’s development
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Comparing Developmental Theories
Active/Passive
Nature/Nurture
Stage/Continuous
Piaget
Active
Both
Stage
Information Processing
Active
Both
Both
Sociocultural
Active
Both
Continuous
Neo-Piagetians
Active
Both
Stage
Social Learning
Both
Nurture
Continuous
Psychosocial
Passive
Both
Stage
Attachment
Passive
Nurture
Stage
Ecological Systems
Both
Both
Continuous
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Critique
• Strengths
– Integrates multiple influences on child
development
• Weaknesses
– Does not provide detailed mechanisms for
development
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Implications for Education
• Primary relationship must be intended to last a lifetime
– Teachers need to work to support the primary child-adult
relationship
– Schools should create an environment that welcomes and
nurtures families
– Education should foster societal attitudes that value all
work done on behalf of children
• More research is needed to examine interactions
between different levels of relationships in a child’s
development
– Bronfenbrenner states that there is little conflict between
families and the school.
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos
Revision
• Describe the four layers of relationships that
influences a child’s development
• According to ecological systems theory, what
can educators do to facilitate a child’s
development?
Dr. K. A. Korb
University of Jos