{"id":513,"date":"2011-11-21T16:28:57","date_gmt":"2011-11-21T16:28:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/?page_id=513"},"modified":"2025-10-17T19:37:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T19:37:46","slug":"e-c-1-1-contexts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/e-c-1-1-contexts\/","title":{"rendered":"EC 1.1 Contexts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

People develop in the context of particular times and places. Children are nurtured in many different kinds of families, homes and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Consider…<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Jacob<\/h4>\n
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Four-year-old Jacob lives on a farm near Milo, a small town in southeastern Alberta. His dad is a wheat farmer and his Mom is a nurse who works shifts in a hospital…<\/p>\n

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Ziba<\/h4>\n
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Four-year-old Ziba lives in a suburb of Moncton, New Brunswick. She lives with her mother and older brother, Ben, in a three bedroom house with a backyard…<\/p>\n

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Michelle<\/h4>\n\"\"<\/figure>

Four-year-old Michelle lives in assisted social housing in downtown Montreal with her twin sisters, two-year-old Alisha and Jean-Marie. Her mother is a student… \nRead more<\/a> <\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Growing up in Canada, what do these children have in common?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are some differences in their daily experience and family contexts? How do you think these differences might affect them?<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

The surrounding terrain and available physical resources contribute to the ease or difficulty of everyday life. Geographical variation in Canada is enormous. Think about the differences in geography between southern British Columbia and Nunavut or the prairies and south coast of Nova Scotia. What does it mean for a child’s daily life? And there are many other factors in the environments that surround children that influence their development and lives. For example, think about the different cultural contexts in each family and community. Think about what supports and services are available for families. What about economic opportunities for families and communities? What does it mean for a child’s daily life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bioecological Systems Theory<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Dr. Urie Bronfenbrenner\u2019s Ecological Systems Theory (1979) has shaped current North American study of child development. His theory, commonly depicted as nested circles, describes the relationships and interactions between a child’s immediate context (family, friends and early childhood programs) to larger environmental systems (national economy, political structures, laws, values and culture). Bronfenbrenner later recognized the influence of a child’s own biological system and incorporated that into this theory, renaming it the bioecological systems theory.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n READ<\/span>Bioecological systems theory<\/span><\/span> \n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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\n INTERACT<\/span>\n Ecological model<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Urie Bronfenbrenner\u2019s bioecological theory is a major influence in early child development research.<\/p>\n\n\n

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How do you think Bronfenbrenner\u2019s own early experience shaped his perspective on human development?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of a specific child you know. What do you see as the important elements in the child\u2019s home (i.e., most important microsystem)?<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Consider…<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nIsabella is twelve-years-old. She lives with her mother (Bianca), father (Borys), and younger brother (Luca) in a row house in a downtown neighbourhood of Hamilton… Read more<\/a> <\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Can you describe Isabella’s microsystem (her family, peers, and school)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about her mesosystem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you think of what would make up the macrosystem (ideological and institutional patterns of a particular culture or subculture) in which Isabella resides?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the current elements of Isabella’s chronosystem?<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Click on the next review game to check your understanding of Bronfenbrenner’s theory.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n INTERACT<\/span>\n How sure are you?<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
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While the ecological model of child development places an individual (the child) at the center, the model\u2019s basic insight is that the child\u2019s development occurs within a complex matrix of interpersonal relationships and social institutions” (Woodhouse, 2020, p.74).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

American economist Dr. Mildred Warner at Cornell University wants us to think about person, place and context when we think about how children develop. She cautions against the notion that we can “insert a little bit of early education” without considering the child, family, neighbourhood and broader community.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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\n VIEW<\/span>\n Warner – ecological framework (2:00)<\/span>\n \n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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