Bronfenbrenners structure of environment: The microsystem this is the layer closest to the child and contains the structures

s with which the child has direct contact. The microsystem encompasses the relationships and interactions a child has with her immediate surroundings (Berk, 2000). Structures in the microsystem include family, school, neighborhood, or childcare environments. At this level, relationships have impact in two directions - both away from the child and toward the child. For example, a childs parents may affect his beliefs and behavior; however, the child also affects the behavior and beliefs of the parent. Bronfenbrenner calls these bidirectional influences, and he shows how they occur among all levels of environment. The interaction of structures within a layer and interactions of structures between layers is key to this theory. At the microsystem level, bidirectional influences are strongest and have the greatest impact on the child. However, interactions at outer levels can still impact the inner structures. The mesosystem this layer provides the connection between the structures of the childs microsystem (Berk, 2000). Examples: the connection between the childs teacher and his parents, between his church and his neighborhood, etc. The exosystem this layer defines the larger social system in which the child does not function directly. The structures in this layer impact the childs development by interacting with some structure in her microsystem (Berk, 2000). Parent workplace schedules or community-based family resources are examples. The child may not be directly involved at this level, but he does feel the positive or negative force involved with the interaction with his own system. The macrosystem this layer may be considered the outermost layer in the childs environment. While not being a specific framework, this layer is comprised of cultural values, customs, and laws (Berk, 2000). The effects of larger principles defined by the macrosystem have a cascading influence throughout the interactions of all other layers. For example, if it is the belief of the culture that parents should be solely responsible for raising their children, that culture is less likely to provide resources to help parents. This, in turn, affects the structures in which the parents function. The parents ability or inability to carry out that responsibility toward their child within the context of the childs microsystem is likewise affected. The chronosystem this system encompasses the dimension of time as it relates to a childs environments. Elements within this system can be either external, such as the timing of a parents death, or internal, such as the physiological changes that occur with the aging of a child. As children get older, they may react differently to environmental changes and may be more able to determine more how that change will influence them.

Bronfenbrenner was a psychologist who was born in 1917, he developed the ecological theory of human development, in his theory of human development he analyzed three types of systems that aid in human development, they include the micro system, mesosystem, the exosystem, and the macro system and finally he developed the fifth system which is the chrono system. All this system as Bronfenbrenner stated have rules, norms and at the same time roles that shape development of human beings. The microsystem: This are the settings in which a person lives in, this micro system includes the family, peer group, neighborhood and school life, this system helps shape a persons development in that a person have direct contact with them, the nature of this system is that the individuals who have direct contact with the agent will aid in the construction of the settings of this system. The Mesosystem: This system is the relationship between the Microsystems. the Microsystems interrelate with each other and this can be seen with the relationship between school life, the neighborhood and the family, an example is where the peer groups may distort the performance of an individual in school or even the relationship of an individual with his family. The exosystem: In this system the individual has no active role in determining the settings but the settings have direct influence on the individual, an example is where the government will build schools which will create a micro system environment. Also a parent may belayed off from work and this will result to certain outcomes to the family example low income levels leading to the lack of basic needs in the family. The Macrosystem: This is the system that is caused by the ideology in the society or the culture of the society, this influences the individual directly but the individual has less in determining his settings, this for example include ideologies such as democracy, capitalism and socialism, another example of the macro system is religion which may be Christianity, Islam, also the ethnic group example Asian or Indian. The chronosystem: This system is the last system that Bronfenbrenner developed, this system develops as a result of a persons experience in his life, this includes environmental events and transitions in an individuals life, and this also includes the history of an individual. http://pt3.nl.edu/paquetteryanwebquest.pdf http://www.articlesalley.com/article.detail.php/134778/170/Social_Issues/Cul ture_and_Society/32/Bronfenbrenner's_Ecological_Theory_Of_Development