Human Development M2 written

Chapters 1+2
There are 2 parts to this essay.
First:
Think of only one age (between the ages of 5 and 16) in your childhood
Use Urie Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological approach to development (Chapter 1 in Lally & Valentine-Fench text), to place yourself in a fairly complete developmental context. Write about the following five systems. (label which level you are talking about when writing your essay):
Chronosystem: Historical event

Microsystem: Describe:

Your family at that time
Your school and teacher at that time
Your peer group at that time
Your surrounding community at that time
Mesosystem: Describe:

How your parents interacted with your peers at that time
How your parents interacted with your school and teacher at that time
Whether your parents helped with schoolwork at that time
How your community supported your school or activities (e.g., sports)
Exosystem: Describe:

Your parents’ jobs
Vacations you took
Whether there was a divorce in your family
Macrosystem: Describe:

Your ethnic heritage
Your religious affiliations
Your social class (e.g., poor, working-class, middle-class, wealthy)
What was going on in the world at the time (e.g. Vietnam War, who was president of the United States, destruction of the Berlin Wall, etc.)
Chronosystem: Describe:

How did a single historical event or gradual historical changes going on at that time affect your development at that time. Look up events on the internet. (or if there was more than one single historical event write about each one) (for example: supreme court decisions, wars, economics, the change in the number of women who worked outside the home; a change in the types of jobs available; a change from having no television to having television). You may research this event.
Second:
Using another developmental theory besides Bronfenbrenner’s, explain how the theory applies to you at that time in your childhood.
Writing Instructions
Length: 750 – 1000 words

Citations: use only the assigned course material except for the chronosystem

Writing, in-text citations and references should be in APA format. For example, (Lally & Valentine-French, 2017).

ANSWER

Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Approach

Urie Bronfenbrenner Bioecological approach focuses on the complex interactions amid different systems that impact a person’s development. These effects include family, media, peers, and historical and cultural forces influencing how people change over time. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system is among the most accepted explanations for the influence of social environments on the development of human beings (Soyer, 2019). This paper will focus on the multi-level systems of the theory at the age of 10 years. Bronfenbrenner divides an individual’s environment into five different systems; the chronosystem, macrosystem, exosystem, mesosystem and microsystem, which influence an individual’s behaviour.

The microsystem is the direct setting that an individual has in their lives, such as family, neighbours, peers and other individuals that have direct contact with them. There is a direct social interaction with the social agents in a microsystem. The mesosystem entails the connection between different microsystems in an individual’s life (Navarro, Doucet and Tudge, 2020). Ideally, the family experience may be linked to the school encounters. The exosystem is an environment where there is a connection between the context where an individual has an active role and one where a person does not have an active role. For instance, the connection between a father and a child may influence the social relationship with their mother. The macrosystem entails an individual’s actual culture (Guy-Evans, 2020). The cultural contexts entail a person’s economic status, family, race, and ethnicity. Chronosystem entails the shifts and transitions in an individual’s life, including the social-historical events.

Chronosystem

At the age of 10, I experienced the effects of the 2008 Great Recession, which was known to affect housing, adult income and employment, family composition and financial strain. During this time, there were family’s behavioural and emotional processes brought about by the financial strain and economic instability, which affected my childhood development. The shift in the economy led my family into bankruptcy after my parents lost their job. Such financial crises played a significant role in shaping my life to survive in hardship and have life savings to prevent being declared bankrupt.

Microsystem

At the age of 10 years, my family consisted of my parents, one sibling and myself. During the time, my parents were processing a divorce due to family conflicts and financial hardship. We used to switch houses with my sibling after my parents split. Being heavily dependent on my parents, I experienced some anxiety which led to losing interest in some activities that I found enticing. I experienced some intense sadness with feelings of nothing is good in life that almost plunged me into depression at the age of 10. The school and teachers offered a supportive school system that played a significant role in my development at such an influential and young age. Considering that my other sibling was older than me, I spent much of my time interacting with my peers, considered neighbours and schoolmates. Most of the peers we spent time with outside school were the same kids we schooled with, thus creating a solid bond. I grew up in a small street which was predominantly rural. Most of the residents were from low-income households, thus having less to offer to children and encountering various social problems due to the neighbourhood built environment.

Mesosystem

My parents were interactive with my peers since they would engage in conversations. They were hospitable to my peers, who often came over the weekends to play video games or picked me to spend time with them in the play fields. My mother would advise my peers on how to conduct themselves, which also influenced my behaviour. There was always a two-way communication between my teachers and parents that played a significant role in my success. For instance, my father would regularly make phone calls to the teacher to communicate with them concerning my school performance. Being involved with school enabled my parents to build a strong relationship with my teachers, who paid much attention to my school performance and behaviour.

There was a significant parent involvement with homework which helped motivate me and developed my confidence in the classroom. My parents would ensure that I had completed my homework before going to sleep and help where they felt stuck. The continued support enabled me to understand the need to help others. The local community conducts local sports events that focus on bringing people together, creating meaningful connections and increasing social bonds. The Local sports events led to the love for sports for most children, thus supporting engagement in sporting activities. Sporting activities in schools helped build healthier, stronger, safer and happier communities. This is because there is a strong sense of the link between the coaches, the players and the fans, which creates a strong relationship.

Exosystem

Exosystems are informal and formal structures that do not contain the child but directly impact them since they influence the microsystems (Bronfenbrenner, 2018). My parents were working for different companies at this time, which helped them support our family. My father was an accountant at a local back and worked as an external auditor part-time. On the other hand, my mother was a social worker and a night cleaner for a local hospital. Despite the financial hardships, they gave us the best life and ensured that our basic needs were met. We never went on vacation during summer since my parents were still processing their divorce. My parents gave us the freedom to switch homes and interact with each other while still showing much care. The divorce greatly affected my development, but I would still see my parents work tirelessly to meet our needs. They provided us with a better home life which greatly influenced my development. Seeing my parents work very hard despite their divorce issues made me an appreciative and hardworking individual. I grew up as one who does not give up, enjoys the learning process and takes pride in my work.

Macrosystem

My family was considered a lower middle class and white working-class American. Growing up as an American offered me a rich first-hand account of varying social worlds due to diverse ethnic and social background experiences in the neighbourhoods. The lower middle-class households hold low-status professionals and live in financially precarious conditions. These individuals are less happy and satisfied with their occupations but are comfortable that they can support their families. Both parents struggled to ensure that all the family needs were met and provided for us. I was born in a family of Catholics, but due to the hardships and divorce issues, both parents had stopped attending church. Being raised by religious parents impacted my psychological and social development. The Great Recession worsened the family’s financial status in 2008, which created a global financial crisis. This significantly impacted my cognitive development since there was a lot I was taking from what was going on around that time.

Bronfenbrenner’s development theory directly correlates with my life experience at ten years and how I developed as a person. My social and cognitive developments were influenced by my family situations, personal interactions and financial circumstances at the time. This significantly shaped me as a person and helped me live differently. Piaget’s stage theory of human development also defines my development at the time. This includes cognitive development, which involves the actions and processes that change my mental operations (Sanghvi, 2020). At 10, I was at the concrete operational stage, which led to significant developmental changes. I begin thinking logically concerning certain concrete situations. My thinking was more organized and logical, with much reasoning from specific information. This stage allowed me to view the world from other people’s perspectives while also thinking logically about my conditions which influenced my development.

References

Bronfenbrenner, U. (2018). Urie Bronfenbrenner: Learning Context. Learning Theories for Early Years Practice, 66.

Guy-Evans, O. (2020). Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. https://www. simplypsychology. org/Bronfenbrenner. HTML.

Navarro, J., Doucet, F., & Tudge, J. (2020). Bioecological Systems Influences on Early Childhood Education. In Scientific Influences on Early Childhood Education (pp. 55-68). Routledge.

Sanghvi, P. (2020). Piaget’s theory of cognitive development: a review. Indian Journal of Mental Health, 7(2), 90-96.

Soyer, G. F. (2019). Urie Bronfenbrenner: The Ecology of Human Development Book Review.