Contrast And Compare Two Classical Theories Of Development

Educational Theories
Name:
Institution:
Course Title:
Instructor:
Date:
Educational Theories
Introduction
A number of educational theories have been developed in an attempt to explain the various stages involved in child development. Two of these theories include Brofenbrenner's ecological model and the evolutionary perspective. Brofenbrenner's ecological model emphasizes on the importance of the whole ecological system in understanding the stages of human development. Such system consists of various subsystems that guide and enhance human growth. These organizes subsystems range from the microsystem to the microsystems. On the other hand, the evolutionary perspective postulates that the mind of human beings is predominantly composed of highly-highly specialized systems that are specifically designed to solve certain problems (McDonald & Hershberger, 2005). The theory further proposes that such problems are consistent with the ones that have confronted people’s ancestors over evolutionary time. This essay seeks to compare Brofenbrenner's ecological model to the evolutionary perspective.
Comparison between Brofenbrenner's Ecological Model and the Evolutionary Perspective
As aforementioned, Brofenbrenner's ecological model puts a great emphasis on an individual’s ecological system as a basis for understanding his or her development. It perceives the development of a child from the perspective of the child’s ecological system that constitutes her or his environment. The theory describes various systems and subsystems within the environment, each with a certain impact on the development of the child. According to Ryan (2015), the theory is also referred to as “bioecological systems theory” because it regards the biology of a child as the key environment that fuels his or her development. In other words, the interaction between various factors within the maturing biology of the child, the social landscape and his or her community environment/immediate family guides and supports the child’s development (Ryan, 2015).
In a similar manner, the Brofenbrenner's ecological model seems to be consistent with the evolutionary perspective. Just like the Brofenbrenner's ecological model, the evolutionary perspective acknowledges that importance of the environment in guiding and shaping the development of a child. The evolutionary perspective acknowledged the contribution of the environment to a child’s development in the sense that it proposes that the environment shapes the human mind on how to solve certain problems. Moreover, this theory also argues that the human mind can only solve such problems that it has been repeatedly exposed to.
Another similarity between the two theories is that they both acknowledge that the environment or ecosystem is divided into various subsets. In this regard, the Brofenbrenner's ecological model identifies five subsystems including microsystems, mesosystems, ecosystems, macrosystems, and chronosystems. The micr...