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Bronfenbrenner’s Exosystem and Macrosystem Beyond the Microsystems and the Mesosystems, Bronfenbrenner’s model expands to include those environmental contexts that are less direct and less concrete in the child’s life…but still have a powerful influence on the child’s socialization. We will continue to consider Sam, our child in the center of the drawing, as we examine the concepts of the Exosystems and the Macrosystem. The Exosystem (represented by the green circles in the drawing)
There are some settings or events that influence the child’s socialization even though the child has no direct role in them. We call these ecological contexts the Exosystem. The Exosystem has an INDIRECT effect on the child, because the influence from the Exosystem usually impacts the child as it “trickles” down through other people in the child’s life. New laws, government reform, environmental regulation, social unrest, financial upheaval, business and industry are a few examples of contexts that can dramatically effect a child’s life and experiences even though the child may know nothing about them. Remember, even though the effect of the Exosystem is INDIRECT it can still be quite profound. Like the Micro and Meso systems, the Exosystem effect on a child can be short term…like a temporary change in work hours for a parent, or long term, …like growing up during the depression. Many Exosystems influence Sam’s life. For instance, Dad has just gotten a great new client at work. This means that Dad will get a bonus this year and there will be less stress on the family because of more financial security. However, it also means that several of Sam’s weekends with Dad will get interrupted for work and Sam will spend a little less time with Dad over the summer. The Exosystem of Dad’s work has a big impact on Sam through its effect on family finances and visitation schedules. A new factory was just built in Sam’s town. This will bring new jobs and a boom to the