A quarter of a century ago, having travelled and observed children in other countries such as Soviet Russia and in China, the American psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner first published his theory about the ways that the environments and societies in which children grow up influence their development.
He was critical of theories that did not take into account the 'time and place' elements which mean that children experience different childhoods in different communities and in different historical eras. Bronfenbrenner's idea is known as the 'ecological systems theory' because it attempts to include aspects of the contexts in which humans grow up, the cultures and meanings people share, the policies and attitudes that impact on children and how the children themselves actively deal with their experiences. It is also a theory that acknowledges that nothing stays the same - neither the humans themselves, nor the settings in which they live.
Bronfenbrenner's theory brought together ideas from psychology and sociology, highlighting the ways in which what happens to children in different families and circumstances impacts on their development and learning. Bronfenbrenner suggested that there are 'layers', or spheres, of influence which interact with each other, and even though an individual child might not come into direct contact with some of these 'layers' they would still exert an effect on that child's life. He proposed that one might think of these 'layers' as being like a set of Russian dolls. He called the 'layers' the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem.
Bronfenbrenner defined each 'layer' and he later redefined them, explaining that he criticised his own original theory because it did not take sufficient account of intra-personal characteristics (factors within the child). For example, a child's home and family would be affected by interactions with a childcare setting, a religious community, the local authority or health service provision and, overall, by the kind of society in which the child lived. In turn, that society or nation would be influenced by world events and thinking - a good example of world-level influence might be the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has shaped policy in many countries with effects that have filtered through to other levels in society.
Criticisms of theory
Ecological systems theory is, on Bronfenbrenner's own admission, a difficult theory to corroborate by research, because of its complexity.
What complicates matters for many people is the fact that each of the levels of his theoretical model is dynamic and changing. The theory does, however, 'make sense', because it attempts to take account of all the aspects of human life and interaction that impact on children's development.
Influence of theory
Bronfenbrenner's ideas reportedly contributed to the educational vision of Loris Malaguzzi and the Reggio Emilia nurseries in Italy. They have also influenced other theorists such as the cultural psychologist Michael Cole.
The ideas helped to create a climate in which psychologists and other professionals recognised the important influence of environmental factors, such as poverty and poor family health, on children's development. This resulted in intervention programmes being set up to try to remedy disadvantage.
Bronfenbrenner insisted that researchers should take account of the perceptions, understandings and values of the communities in which they work, rather than imposing their own. But in practice, many professionals find it difficult to accept that parents are more expert than themselves.
Power
Bronfenbrenner insisted that young children are actively involved in their own development and learning, but his theory focuses on the ways in which they interpret the contexts of their upbringing, rather than on objective measures of those environments. This means that, among other things, young children recognise where power lies in their communities.
However, another theorist for whom this idea was central was Jurgen Habermas, who was a critical constructivist. His theory tells us that children have the capacity to construct meanings for themselves, but generally they will take on the meanings accepted by most members of their cultural group. These understandings about how people should live and behave are constructed by the most powerful people in a social or cultural group. It is the people with power who express and share the meanings they have chosen. So, it is argued, young children come to accept the assumptions, values and understandings of people in positions of power.
These ideas are important in the field of early childhood because often the 'given meanings' can be about excluding certain people from mainstream society. Equal opportunities issues are especially relevant to this.
Material culture
A further important aspect of critical constructivism is the idea that we are now born into a world in which the meanings children construct are influenced by a globalised economy. As Glenda MacNaughton points out, the toy and entertainment industries are a powerful example of the globalised material culture which impacts on children's ability to construct their meanings and understandings of the world.
As the previous article pointed out ('Building Up', Nursery World, 20 May), children co-construct meanings with the familiar people with whom they share their lives; they do not produce and gain knowledge in isolation.
According to ecological systems theorists as well as critical constructivists, knowledge and learning (that is, development) is always social and is accomplished in the context of an ever- changing dynamic of power relations.
It is theorists like Bronfenbrenner who have alerted policymakers to the ways in which factors such as poverty and prejudice can cast long shadows in the lives of young children.
Tricia David is Emeritus Professor of Education at Canterbury Christ Church University College
Suggested reading
* Bronfenbrenner, U (1992), 'Ecological Systems Theory'. In R.Vasta (ed) Six Theories of Child Development (Jessica Kingsley)
* MacNaughton, G and Williams, G (2004), Teaching Young Children (Open University Press/McGraw-Hill)
* Woodhead, M, Faulkner, D and Littleton, K (1998), Cultural Worlds of Early Childhood (Routledge/Open University Press)