ABSTRACT
This chapter captures the brief essence of Urie Bronfenbrenner's theory. Bronfenbrenner developed his bioecological theory of human development. He wrote about proximal processes almost exclusively in a positive manner, the "developmental outcomes" being either the promotion of competence or the reduction of what he termed "dysfunction". In other words, a child who is expected to do well at school will become increasingly competent by engaging in plenty of positive and challenging activities and interactions with teachers and peers. By contrast, in the case of a child who is struggling with the demands of school, engagement in positive activities and interactions with teachers and peers will reduce the likelihood of school failure. These proximal processes serve as a means to protect this child from the negative consequences of those early struggles. Early childhood educators might think that a theory of human development may be important in terms of research, but is not particularly relevant to their practical work with young children.
