Social Ecological Perspective

Since being developed by Bronfenbrenner in 1979 social ecological perspectives have been widely used to formulate practice guidelines and government policies when planning service needs for children, young people and their families. This essay will discuss what a social ecological perspective consists of, what limitations it may incur and how it can assist us in developing best practice and understanding when working with children, young people and families. It will draw on examples from K218 for illustrative purposes.

Social ecological perspectives are often described as a web of relationships (k218, Learning guide 3, 3.1). They make us aware that each individual has many defining factors making up who they are. Social ecological perspectives have the child/young person at the centre and show how they are connected to the family, community and society as a whole. They demonstrate the layers that go into making the individual and show that everybody has a unique set of circumstances that affect the person they are, their achievements, social standing and even their health. Social ecological perspectives give us the opportunity to quantify these factors and offer a tool to collate the data, giving us the chance to see how factors such as employment, housing or demographic area can affect life chances in both the short and long term. Social economic perspectives tell us that to fully understand the individual we must also understand their environment and how they are connected to it. Rather than just looking at the child or young person on a standalone basis we must look at what factors affect their behaviour, where they are living, what the home or community environment is like and try to respond appropriately to this.

Social eco...

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...gical perspectives are very useful in identifying areas of need and identifying “at risk” groups; they allow practitioners to target whole areas of society simultaneously and can be used to encourage social change. However, on individual levels they should be used with some care to ensure that each person’s needs are met and that factors not related to the wider community can be targeted.

Bibliography

Commission for Social Care Inspection (2005) Making Every Child Matter, Commission for Social Care Inspection

The open University (2011) K218 Readings, Working with children, young people and families, Milton Keynes, The Open University

The Open University (2011) K218 Working with children, young people and families, Learning guide 3 “A web of relationships” The Open University http://learn.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=604235&direct=1 (accessed 8/11/2011)