Social Ecological Model - From Systems Thinking To Socioecological Models

From Systems Thinking To Socioecological Models

A system can be defined as a comparatively bounded structure consisting of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements that form a whole. Systems thinking argues that the only way to fully understand something or an occurrence is to understand the parts in relation to the whole. Thus, systems thinking, which is the process of understanding how things influence one another within a whole, is central to ecological models. Generally, a system is a community situated within an environment. Examples of systems are health systems, education systems, food systems, and economic systems.

Drawing from natural ecosystems which are defined as the network of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment, social ecology is a framework or set of theoretical principles for understanding the dynamic interrelations among various personal and environmental factors. Social ecology pays explicit attention to the social, institutional, and cultural contexts of people-environment relations. This perspective emphasizes the multiple dimensions (example: physical environment, social and cultural environment, personal attributes), multiple levels (example: individuals, groups, organizations), and complexity of human situations (example: cumulative impact of events over time). Social ecology also incorporates concepts such as interdependence and homeostasis from systems theory to characterize reciprocal and dynamic person-environment transactions.,

Individuals are key agents in ecological systems. From an ecological perspective, the individual is both a postulate (a basic entity whose existence is taken for granted) and a unit of measurement. As a postulate, an individual has several characteristics. First he requires access to an environment, upon which he/she is dependent for knowledge. Second, he is interdependent with other humans; that is, is always part of a population and cannot exist otherwise. Third, he is time bound, or has a finite life cycle. Fourth, he has an innate tendency to preserve and expand life. Fifth, he has capacity for behavioral variability. Social ecological models are thus applicable to the processes and conditions that govern the lifelong course of human development in the actual environment in which human beings live. Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Framework for Human Development is considered to be the most recognized and utilized social ecological model (as applied to human development). Ecological systems theory considers a child’s development within the context of the systems of relationship that form his or her environment.