“An Avatar is defined as a virtual child, adolescent or child within the developmental characteristics and context unlike your own” (EDFD127, Unit Outline 2009, p7). Drawn and designed on Paint.

INDEX Slide 1: Title page including picture of Avatar and definition. Slide 2: Index Slide 3: About the ‘Avatar’. Slide 4: Bronfenbrenner's Social ecology model. Slide 5: Microsystem both Internal and External Slide 6: Microsystem ‘Internal’ relating to Avatar Slide 7: Microsystem ‘External’ relating to Avatar Slide 8: Mesosystem Slide 19: Mesosystem relating to Avatar Slide 10: Exosystem Slide 11: Exosystem relating to Avatar Slide 12: Macrosystem Slide 13: Macrosystem relating to Avatar Slide 14: Chronosystem Slide 15: Chronosystem relating to Avatar Slide 16: Referencing

Avatar Name: Sarah Age: 6 years old Gender: Female Cultural Background: Lebanese Beliefs: Maronite Catholic School: St. Charbel’s College SES: Mother, Father, younger brother, Kindergarten, Friends, no family. Family patterns: Father works Full- time, Mother is a casual worker at a school. Both migrated here from Lebanon with no family so they can work and start a family. Live in a Unit with Friends, school and Church nearby.

Individual Macrosystem ExosystemMesosystem Microsystem Chronosystem Bronfenbrenner’s Social ecology model Drawn using shapes and colours for keys.

Microsystem (Internal and External) Microsystems are defined as ‘an immediate setting containing that person, where interactions occur between the developing person and the environment’ (White, F., Hayes, B. Livesey, D p15). These immediate settings include immediate family, consisting of Mother, father, Brother and/ or sister, the school or child care centre the child attends to, Peers, Church, and Doctor. These settings are which the child (Avatar) has direct personal experience. “ Settings are seen to influence children not only through their physical features and activities, also through the personality and belief systems of people in those settings. The effects of the settings is modified by the children’s perception of the context and people within them” (Bowes, J. Grace, R p 8).

Microsystem (Internal) Relating to Avatar Physical: Sarah wear’s glasses Cognitive development: knows both languages, Arabic and English. Condition of lifestyle: stable family income, no extended family living in Australia/ nearby. Social/ cultural influences: attends catholic, Maronite school with all students with a Lebanese background. Her culture is expressed and emphasised on a daily basis and has the morals and ethics expected by her due to her cultural expectations. The language spoken at school is English and when she is at home she speaks Arabic with her parents. There is a mixture which often causes confusion.

Microsystem (External) Relating to Avatar Sarah comes from a family with four (4) members including: Mother, father, Sarah who is six (6) years old, and younger brother, Chris, who is three (3) years old. They have family friends and peers from school who they socialise with due to family being overseas. Her school St. Charbel’s College is close to home, her mother works at the school which makes it easy for Sarah to feel like she fits in. Sarah’s family live in a unit, which is small and comfortable for them. Sarah does not participate in any social curriculums due to parents working and not having time to take the children.

Mesosystem Mesosystem is defined as ‘a system of Microsystems through which different settings are linked’ (White, F., Hayes, B. Livesey, D p16). ‘It refers to the match between two (2) settings in the Microsystem’ (Bowes, J. Grace, R p 8). Examples of these connections can be between home and school or parents and friends. The child’s connections between their teachers has an important impact on the connections between the teacher and the parent as the connections are not one way. This is where the parent is referred to as the ‘role model’ for their child.

Mesosystem Relating to Avatar Sarah having to wear glasses, this has affected her self esteem and self confidence in herself. Sarah doesn’t know anyone that wears glasses. This has placed more expenses on the parents as they know have to pay for the glasses, eye specialists and time of work to take her to her appointments. Being teased by children at school because of her glasses. Low self esteem and self confidence. Being accepted by her family at home for wearing glasses and not being accepted at school places stress on her as their is no connections between the school and family. This needs to occur so that Sarah feels comfortable both at home a school.

Exosystem Exosystem is defined as ‘a system that is distal from the developing person’ (White, F., Hayes, B. Livesey, D p16). ‘In the Exosystem the child is not directly involved in all settings but is nevertheless directly affected by them. The three Exosystem that influence children through their family members are the parents workplaces, social networks and community influences’ (Bowes, J. Grace, R p 8). Example: The parents place of employment may indirectly affect the child by the number of hours the child is separated from the parent, amount of money earned, leave arrangements. The levels of government may also impact their family support networks and the community influences including local parks.

Exosystem Relating to Avatar Sarah is being affected by the three exosystems that influence children through their family members: the parents workplaces, as her father is full time and leaves the responsibility of the children to her mother. His income is what they live of. Social networks; due to the fact that they have no family here in Australia, their social network is low. They have friends and peers from their work and school that they are close to but Sarah does need family. Community influences; as Sarah’s family live in a unit, all the communities influences is crucial as they make the most of the resources including the local parks, theme parks, shops etc.

Macrosystem Macrosystem is defined as ‘a broad societal blue print that contains the core structures and values that compose a particular culture’ (White, F., Hayes, B. Livesey, D p16). This incorporates Laws, Values, Wealth, Beliefs, Morals and ethics and cultural backgrounds. These all shape an individuals life as it is who they are as a person and shapes all decisions they make throughout their life. They pass on through families, schools, churches and other social and government institutions. ‘Two (2) additions made to Urie Bronfenbrenner's model are important in that they affect the way we think of context and how it influences individuals’ (Bowes, J. Grace, R p10). ‘First addition is inclusion of the idea of individuals seeking their developmental niche or actively seeking contexts to match their own characteristics’ (Bowes, J. Grace, R p10). ‘Second addition is the time dimension, the Chronosystem. This acknowledges that just as individuals change overtime, so do contexts’ (Bowes, J. Grace, R p10).

Macrosystem Relating to Avatar The Laws, Values, Wealth, Beliefs, Morals and ethics and cultural backgrounds of Sarah are incorporated through her everyday life. The school she attends to being a catholic school with a church and beliefs, empathise her beliefs in God, morals and ethics what is right and wrong), cultural background being Lebanese with tradition and family orientation. What affects her is that she has no family to be able to have the family orientation. Sarah’s parents income is used to pay for their expenses, school fees, childcare fees for her younger brother, bills, medical expenses for her eyes and government expenses (taxes).

Chronosystem Chronosystem ‘is the social and historical time frame in which the individuals life and life events are set’ (Nixon, D. Aldwinckle, M p40). ‘Just as individuals change overtime, so to do contexts’ (Bowes, J. Grace, R p10). The interactions of a child take place in their lives relate to each system. These gradually change overtime as the child grows and develops. These changes can be situational change, situational crisis, developmental or can be related to genetics (Passed down from one family member to another). Example of change that occurs during the child’s development can be in the classroom. ‘Teachers use different methods of discipline with kindergarten children from those they use with high school students’ (Bowes, J. Grace, R p10).

Chronosystem Relating to Avatar As Sarah grows and develops in time, so does her eye sight. She will grow out of it as it is a genetic thing. Being teased at school will decrease as children will grow to realise in time that in life you have to accept people no matter how they look, what colour they are etc. The troubles her parents are having together will also change in time as she will come back to Australia after her operation with her mum, and the father will realise that she will not stay in Lebabon.

Referencing Australian Bureau of statistics (2008), Average weekly earnings, retrieved on 22 nd March 2009 from Bowes, J. M. (Ed). (2009). Children, Families and communities: Contexts and consequences: impacts on Children, Families and communities (p8) (3 rd edn). Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Bowes, J. M. (Ed). (2009). Children, Families and communities: Contexts and consequences: impacts on Children, Families and communities (p10) (3 rd edn). Melbourne: Oxford University Press. EDFD127: Contexts for learning and development, ACU Strathfield, (2009) Unit outline (p7). Nixon, D. Aldwinckle, M. (2005). Exploring child development from three to six year: theories and beliefs about child development (p40) (2 nd edn). Melbourne: Thomson Learning. White, F., Hayes, B., Livesey, D. (2005). Introduction to developmental psychology. In F. White, B. Hayes, D. Livesey, Developmental psychology: from infancy to adulthood (p15). Frenchs forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia/ prentice Hall. White, F., Hayes, B., Livesey, D. (2005). Introduction to developmental psychology. In F. White, B. Hayes, D. Livesey, Developmental psychology: from infancy to adulthood (p16). Frenchs forest, NSW: Pearson Education Australia/ prentice Hall.