ABSTRACT
In this section, Shelton discusses several important advantages gained by employing Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model, the first being that it is comprehensive, highly generalizable, and powerful. It generates a rich set of questions pertinent to describing the processes and contexts a person engages in that shape development. By integrating developmental and ecological perspectives, Bronfenbrenner’s model leads to analysis that approaches the subject of study with greater complexity, clarity and validity than any other model. Shelton proposes possible ways to approach the issue of developmental value in ways consistent with the framework. The author comments on the applicability of develecological analysis beyond individual development to encompass family transitions and communities, as well as to structure evaluations of programs and interventions designed to improve potential for development. The section concludes with the caveat that Bronfenbrenner’s framework is not in itself a theory of development. It is rather a framework for conceptualizing the environment and the development that occurs in transaction with the ecological context.
