THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT THEORY FOR THE EDUCATION AND MENTAL HEALTH OF THE CHILD

Abstract

 According to the ecosystemic model of Bronfenbrenner (1979), the development of an individual is part of an environmental system that is complex and in interaction, built around a microsystem and being dinamic in relation to a macrosystem. This article presents and questions the ecological theory of human development and wants to illustrate the applications of the Bronfenbrenner model in the field of today’s education and in the field of mental health of the child and adult.The social ecology theory takes as a postulate that the development and behavior of the individual are the result of continuous influences between the individual and his environment. If we are not careful, a child who has potential, can develop behavioral problems or problems of adaptation in an environment with high-level risk factors. After having quickly presented the ecological approaches in sociology and psychology from 1920 to 1950, two cases of schools and pedagogical projects based on self-esteem and creativity will be illustrated: one in Luxembourg, Europe, and the other in the USA, in Washington.They show how the mental health of young children may affect the learning process. In the field of public mental health, the declination of the Bronfenbrenner theory is relevant: the Ottawa Charter, WHO, 1986, has been supporting, for 30 years, the creation of favorable environments that determine good physical and mental health of the population.