© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 1 Ecology of the Child.

©2010 Cengage Learning.All Rights Reserved.

Chapter 1

Ecology of the Child


The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Alphonse Karr


Ecology, Change, and Children


Human Ecology• Involves biological, psychological,

and cultural contexts• The contexts of development help

define human processes that develop over time, such as–Perceptions–Learning– Individual and group behavior


Human Ecology

• The biological, psychological, social, and cultural contexts in which a developing person interacts and the consequent processes that develop over time.


Socialization and Child Development


Socialization

• The process by which individuals acquire the knowledge, skills, and character traits that enable them to participate as effective members of groups and society


Socialization• Unique to humans• Reciprocal and dynamic

• Socialization occurs• through interaction with significant

others • by means of communication • in emotionally significant contexts


Intentional Socialization

• Socialization in which values are consistently conveyed, and backed up with• approval for compliance • negative consequences for

noncompliance


Unintentional Socialization

• Socialization that takes place spontaneously • without the deliberate intent to impart

knowledge or values


Socialization, Change and Challenge


Socializing Agents• Children are socialized by many

people.• Socializing agents change their

practices or views over time in reaction to, or as a result of, societal change.


Childhood: Historical Perspectives

• The Renaissance• Development of the Printing Press• The Industrial Revolution• Childhood Today


Socialization in an Ecological Context


Theory

• An organized set of statements that explains observations, integrates different facts or events, and predicts future outcomes

• Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model



Microsystem

• Activities and relationships with significant others experienced by a developing person in a particular small setting

• Examples are family, school, peer group, and community


Mesosystem

• Linkages and interrelationships between two or more of a person’s microsystems


Exosystem

• Settings in which children do not actually participate, but which affect them in one of their microsystems


Macrosystem

• The society and subculture to which the developing person belongs, with particular reference to belief systems, lifestyles, patterns of interaction, and life changes


Low-Context Macrosystem


High-Context Macrosystem


Chronosystem

• Temporal changes in ecological systems or within individuals, producing new conditions that affect development


Contemporary Ecology


Contemporary Ecology• Biotechnology• Societal vs. individual responsibility• Information technology• Globalism/nationalism• Shifts in decision-making

responsibility• Information intermediaries

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. Chapter 1 Ecology of the Child.

Documents

developing person

societal change

ecological systems

values socialization

society socializationunique

particular reference

peer group

patterns of interaction