Outline Of The Bioecological Model

Outline

I. The bioecological model was formulated to address the limitation of and criticism on the ecological systems theory regarding the emphasis it gave to the role of the environment in molding human development.

A. It is a theoretical system in the scientific study of development that places the two-way relationship between the person and one's setting in the forefront.

B. It is best defined by its interdisciplinary and integrative efforts to create policies and programs for the benefit of children and adolescents.

C. Despite undergoing constant modifications, it remains true to its original content and structure with the help of three overarching orientations:

1. Development is investigated in terms of stability and change

(Proximal) Process - The interaction between a human being and his/her situation over time is considered to be the primary mechanism that produces development.

B. Person - There are three types of process-relevant characteristics:

1. Dispositions (e.g. motivation, persistence), which commence and maintain the motion of proximal processes;

2. Resources (e.g. ability and acquired knowledge, skills), which moves towards the effectivity of proximal processes; and

3. Demand Characteristics (e.g. sex, age, ethnicity), which promote or suspend the operation of proximal processes.

C. Context - Environment is divided into four categories (or nested levels/systems as the ecological model of human development puts it):

1. Microsystem where the immediate surroundings influence an individual's actions and behaviors (e.g. family, friends, teachers, and even the likes of objects as well as symbols);

2. Mesosystem where characters from two or more microsystems interact and form a relationship (e.g. parent-teacher conference);

3. Exosystem where an individual is not an active participant in any given scenarios yet still ended up being influenced due to an existing microsystem (e.g. the effect of the parents' occupational demands and stress to their child);

Mesotime, which is the interval and recurrence in days, weeks, months or years of the aforementioned episodes; and

3. Macrotime, which is the changing times brought by the development of the life course within and across generations.

III. Future studies that make use of the bioecological model must figure out what potential changes may transpire in this perspective and then communicate these to current lawmakers in addition to upcoming scientists.

Integration

The bioecological model builds on the ecological systems theory by drawing attention to the interaction of the organism and the environment instead of focusing only on the latter. This is the result of two propositions: (1) that development transpires because of an active, evolving biopsychological human being in a specific environment; and (2) that such a proximal process ultimately depends on variations in the person, context, and time. They were then operationalized to create the current theory and its research design that we know of today with the aptly titled "Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) Model," in which the first is the force influencing human development while the rest is the cause of its change in form, content, and direction. Similar to dominant ideologies in the field of developmental science, the view of a bioecological model promotes the individual as an active agent who plays a central role in one's own development while also being a product of changes in the surroundings at the same