Aligning Bronfenbrenner with UNESCO’s dimensions of sustainability

Abstract

In creating his model of human development based on systems theory, he proposed that human development occurred in ever-widening social contexts and through human interrelationships, in contrast to previous developmental theories based on ages and stages (Piaget & lnhelder, 1969). His model depicts a hierarchy of concentric nested circles, including the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem, with the child/adult located centrally. The inner microsystems are the child's immediate daily settings, the mesosystem conveys the interactions and interrelationships between the microsystems, the exosystem includes those social settings where a child is not directly involved but may have indirect influence, and the most outer system is the macrosystem of overarching policies, values and cultural beliefs. Bronfenbrenner (1979) created many versions of his model over time and added the chronosystem to identify systemic change over time.