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Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Theory: Its Development, Core Concepts, and Critical Issues

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Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methodologies

Abstract

One goal in this chapter is to show how Urie Bronfenbrenner’s theory developed over the course of his lifetime, focusing partly not only on the changes that occurred over the three distinct phases of its development (see Rosa & Tudge, 2013) but also on what remained largely the same. Specifically, it is important to recognize that the construct of ecology—the interdependence of individual and context—was central in each phase. This interdependence is relevant to a second goal—showing that Bronfenbrenner’s theory fits within what Pepper (1942) termed the contextualist paradigm. Given that Bronfenbrenner has been largely treated as a mechanist by many who “misuse” his theory (Tudge et al., 2009), it is important to make clear the distinction between the two. A third goal is to show how the theory can be used effectively, as well as consider some of the theory’s limitations and how it has been built upon.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We are drawing primarily on this 1998 chapter, but their 2006 chapter is identical apart from the addition of pages from Bronfenbrenner (2001), and the same points we will make about the third and final phase of the theory could be drawn from almost any of Bronfenbrenner’s writings from 1994 onward (Rosa & Tudge, 2013).

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Author notes

  1. Elisa A. Merçon-Vargas and Ayse Payir contributed equally with all other contributors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development and Family Studies, School of Health and Human Sciences, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Jonathan R. H. Tudge & Elisa A. Merçon-Vargas

  2. Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Ayse Payir

Authors
  1. Jonathan R. H. Tudge
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  2. Elisa A. Merçon-Vargas
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  3. Ayse Payir
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonathan R. H. Tudge .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, USA

    Kari Adamsons

  2. Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    April L. Few-Demo

  3. Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, College of Education and Human Development University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA

    Christine Proulx

  4. Department of Family Science, School of Public Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Kevin Roy

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Tudge, J.R.H., Merçon-Vargas, E.A., Payir, A. (2022). Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Theory: Its Development, Core Concepts, and Critical Issues. In: Adamsons, K., Few-Demo, A.L., Proulx, C., Roy, K. (eds) Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methodologies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92002-9_16

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