Contextual Approaches/ Game of Life Contextual approaches consider the factors that influence our development. The organization of the family unit. Socio cultural influences Birth order/number of siblings Gender

Brofenbrenner Immigrated to U.S. from the USSR at age 6. Co-founder of Head Start. Army Psychologist WWII 1970’s Professorship at Cornell University.

Brofenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory This theory looks at a child’s development within the context of the system of relationships that form his or her environment. Brofenbrenner’s theory defines complex “layers” of environment, each having an effect on a child’s development.

Changes or conflict in any one layer will ripple throughout other layers. To study a child’s development then, we must look not only at the child and her immediate environment, but also at the interaction of the larger environment as well.

Microsystem At the microsystem level, the inside level influences are strongest and have the greatest impact on the child. However, interactions at outer levels can still impact the inner structures. Ex: family, classroom Bronfenbrenner noted that as long as increased numbers in a child's micro-system mean more enduring reciprocal relationships, increasing the size of the system will enhance child development.

Mesosystem The mesosystem – this layer provides the connection between the structures of the child’s microsystem (Berk, 2000). Examples: the connection between the child’s teacher and his parents, between his church and his neighborhood, In these interrelationships, the initiatives of the child, and the parents' involvement in linking the home and the school, play roles in determining the quality of the child's meso-system.

Exocystem The exosystem – this layer defines the larger social system in which the child does not function directly. The structures in this layer impact the child’s development by interacting with some structure in her microsystem These may include the parental workplace, school boards, social service agencies, and planning commissions.

Macrosystem The macro-system. Macro-systems are "blueprints" for interlocking social forces and their interrelationships in shaping human development. They provide the broad ideological and organizational patterns within which the meso- and exo-systems reflect the ecology of human development. Macro-systems are not static, but might change through evolution and revolution. For example, economic recession, war, and technological changes may produce such changes.

Project: Read the article Brofenbrenner/Schools with a partner. Discuss each of Brofenbrenner’s areas of importance in schools. Consider the importance of Brofenbrenner’s theories to education in schools. With a partner, develop four questions for our school administration, guidence department, or ..Pretend that you are the parent of a child who is beginning pre-school. Compose a list of questions in your journal that you would ask in an interview based on what you have read in this article. Be prepared to interview ….