Bioecological Model
The bioecological model is a theoretical concept that highlights the development of human being beings over a certain period, and the model was developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner and Stephen Ceci (Vélez-Agosto et.al. 2017). The bioecological model was a buildup of Bronfenbrenner’s previous framework of human development, referred to as the ecological system theory. The bioecological model is a long term approach to development because it covers both children and adults. The model can be used to explain the relevance of apprehending the relationship between human development and the context of the involved environment. In addition, the bioecological model can be used by scientists to study the unordinary behaviors of children when they are confronted with unordinary situations. Bronfenbrenner revealed that scientists should be interested in identifying the processes that either enhance or hinder human development. The goal of this paper is to help me apply the bioecological model in my daily life experiences.
Personal Application
Some of the innate traits that I bring to the environment include chromosomes. Chromosomes are thread-like structures located in the body of a human being. Mangino et.al. (2017), states that chromosomes are vital to human beings because they ensure that DNA is evenly distributed in the body to facilitate the process of cell divisions and the creation of daughter cells. Chromosomes can be inherited from parents hence the reason why children inherit character traits of either their mother or father. Another innate trait that I can bring to the environment is temperament. Temperament is a composition of the physical, mental, and emotional traits of an individual. Understanding my temperaments has helped me develop and exercise emotional intelligence whenever confronted by emotions. Human beings are bound to experience emotions regularly, and therefore how they handle such emotions reveals their real character. Understanding the temperaments of children is also crucial because it helps be figure ways to work with them rather than trying to change them. Additionally, chronological age is another innate trait, and it explains the time a person has been in existence. Chronological age is important because it helps people achieve social interaction and learning.
The microsystem has been beneficial to me because I have been able to maintain healthy relationships with my family members, students, and friends. Also, the microsystem has helped me to grow both physically and spiritually. Mesosystem has facilitated a good relationship between my family and my school. Consequently, my learning experience has been conducive. In addition, the mesosystem has facilitated a robust relationship between both of my families, and this has helped me because I have received unrelenting support from both parents. The ecosystem has also played a pivotal role because the social norms in my community have helped me maintain ethical morality. Also, I have indirectly benefited from my parent’s employment because they have catered for my basic needs. Macrosystem has been crucial to me because I have developed crucial social values like honesty and respect that are key values in the life of every individual. Finally, the chronosystem environment has helped me enhance my knowledge capacity through the learning of historical events like the European colonization of various parts of the world (Olofson, 2017).
Application to Someone Else
In this case, I will describe a fellow citizen I know. Some of the innate traits that they bring to the environment include empathy. Empathy is the trait of understanding what another person may be going through. My friend’s empathy has been crucial since he has helped many individuals who had many social problems like the parent’s divorce. Another innate trait owned by my friend is extroversion, which is the character trait of being social, talkative, and optimistic. Extroversion has helped my friend grow socially since he has developed significant social networks and won many friends. Besides, my friend also possesses the innate trait of resilience. Resilience means being flexible in order to adapt to different environments. Resilience is important in human development because it helps human beings to handle challenging situations that they overcome in their daily lives. Resilient people directly face the difficulties that they encounter rather than giving in to such problems (Mangino et.al. 2017).
Each of the environmental life influences my friend’s life in different ways. For instance, the microsystem has helped my friend encourage a recommendable working relationship with his current employer, and he has immensely reaped from such a relationship because he has been offered a crucial promotion to a senior position. Mesosystem has promoted and fostered a good relationship between my friend’s sibling and his parents. The good relationship has promoted the culture of understanding and assistance between the siblings and the parents. Exosystem has facilitated a working relationship between my friend and his child’s school headteacher. Consequently, my friend, being a business person, has secured several tenders in the school. Besides, the macro system has helped my friend develop patriotism for his country by being a law-abiding citizen. Finally, the chronosystem has greatly transformed my friend because. For instance, he has used social media as a marketing avenue for his business, and this has made him secure viable business transactions.
Summary
Based on my observations, the environment has both positive and negative influences on the development of individuals or families. Environmental factors such as socialization help children develop while socializing with other children, and this facilitates faster development because children may know how to speak at the early stages. Environmental, economic factors such as the availability of economic activities like agriculture and mining make individuals satisfy basic needs, and they are likely to have a healthy development. Additionally, the parent’s relationships also play a key role in the development of their kids. For instance, healthy relationships between parents will make children comfortable because they will be supported in their education and other life endeavors. Unhealthy relationships between parents may result in divorce, which may make children develop stress and depression. Consequently, this makes children have slow development. stress and depression may also cause to the children to develop health complications. Children brought up by parents who are frequently involved in chaos may have low intelligent quotient. Children raised in low-income families may not be able to access basic needs like food, which may result in malnutrition, thereby altering the process of development. finally, I believe that unfavorable environmental conditions such as extremely hot or cold climatic conditions may also slow the process of human development.
If there is an environment of understanding between both families, cases of conflicts are minimized, and such a family is likely to develop. Also, a family whose parents are financially stable is able to cater to their needs and engage in other activities like an investment, hence enhancing the development of such a family. Parents who are frequently engaged in chaos and conflicts may not achieve more as a family, and the family is likely to witness slow development.
Recommendations
I would like to make the following recommendations for families or professionals working with families;
- Professionals working with families should regularly hold discussions with families. Such discussions should include both parents and children to monitor the behavior of children to ascertain whether such behaviors are likely to promote or hinder the development of the children.
- Professionals working with families should regularly hold a separate meeting with parents alone to ascertain whether a parent’s behavior is an enabler of human development, or it is impeding the development of the child.
- Parents should ensure that their children get sufficient education. Education results in the inadequate acquisition of knowledge, which makes children grow mentally.
- Parents need to ensure that their children engage in physical activities or body fitness exercises for health conditions, and this will also enhance their development.
References
Vélez-Agosto, N. M., Soto-Crespo, J. G., Vizcarrondo-Oppenheimer, M., Vega-Molina, S., & García Coll, C. (2017). Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory revision: Moving culture from the macro into the micro. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(5), 900-910.
Mangino, M., Roederer, M., Beddall, M. H., Nestle, F. O., & Spector, T. D. (2017). Innate and adaptive immune traits are differentially affected by genetic and environmental factors. Nature communications, 8(1), 1-7.
Olofson, M. W. (2017). Childhood Adversity, Families, Neighborhoods, and Cognitive Outcomes: Testing Structural Models of the Bioecological Framework. International Journal of Education and Practice, 5(12), 199-216.