Bronfenbrenner's Theory Flashcards
Bronfenbrenner’s Theory
A bioecological systems theory that explains how the child’s smaller and larger environments affect their psycho-social development; includes the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem
Microsystem
System closest to the child and contains structures with which the child has direct contact; The child’s immediate environment
EX: Family, schools, neighborhood, childcare environments
Mesosystem
- The relationships formed between influential actors in a child’s life
EX: Parent-teacher relationships, parent-church relationship, sibling-parent relationships
Exosystem
- The larger social systems which the child the does not function directly, but still impacts the child’s development as it interacts with something within their microsystem
Ex: Parents work schedule, mass media, teacher training institutes
Macrosystem
Outermost system; dominant beliefs and ideologies; cultural values, customs, and laws
Culture
Behavior patterns, beliefs, and all other products of a particular people passed down from generation to generation
The Iceberg of Culture
- Edward T. Hall proposed culture has two components; 10% (external/surface culture) is visible, 90% (internal/deeper culture) is hidden below the surface
Iceberg of Culture - External/ surface culture
- Explicitly learned
- Conscious
- Easily changeable
- Objective Knowledge
-food, art, dance, clothing, language, greeting music
Iceberg of Culture- Internal/deeper culture
- Implicitly learned
- Unconscious
- Difficult to Change
- Subjective Knowledge
- Worldview, religious beliefs, decision-making models, concepts of justice, def of sin, concepts of time, notions of child-rearing
Individualism
- Idea that freedom of thought and action for each person is the most important quality of a society, rather than shared effort and responsibility
- Valuing uniqueness
- Personal goals > group goals
- Self over others
-Fostering independence
Collectivism
- tendency to view oneself as part of a larger (family or social) group, rather as an isolated, independent being
-Fostering group belongingness
-Valuing harmonious relationships
Do cultural values inform the way teachers set up their classrooms?
YES!
How does socioeconomic status relate to students’ school experiences?
Income level leads to amount of education received which leads to occupational status (a repeating cycle)
-Way to break lower SES is education
Negative impact of poverty on children and schools
- Poor language development
- Less cognitively stimulating home environment
- Lower achievement scores
- Lower graduation rates
- Lower % college bound
How does race and ethnicity relate to students school experiences?
Define Race and Ethnicity
- Race: social construct that distinguishes people based on physical characteristics
- Ethnicity: refers to social groups with a shared history, sense of identity, geography and cultural roots which may occur despite racial difference
