Bronfenbrenner's model and motor development

Motor development is caused by the interaction of two things: Biology (nature) and the Environment (nurture). We have very little two do about biology, but a lot to do with the environment. As professionals in the field of motor development (teaching and/or rehabilitating), we belong to a very small fraction of the all the systems that influence an individual. I like to look at environmental influences from the view of Bronfenbrenner, who listed all  systems that influence a person's development in order of proximity and hierarchy. The diagram above exemplifies that - a person is in the middle of the circle, and is surrounded by aspects of the microsystem or "close" settings, or contexts in which the individual lives, such as health services, family and school. The mesosystem explains how those settings of the microsystem relate and interact to each other. The exosystem are social settings that are not directly influenced by the individual, and the macrosystem refers to the culture that surrounds the individual and all other systems. The chronosystem is influenced by time from a larger perspective.

With this model, it's pretty easy to figure out who we are and what we became as we look at all other systems that influenced us - from a personal and a motor development perspective. For example - why did we choose the sports and motor activities we did? What were the things that we were good at - and what are our physical choices now? But the big question is: As professionals dealing with motor competence, how can we actively use the Bronfenbrenner's theory in our applied experiences? I don't know of any right or wrong ways to do that, but I believe that when both assessing and intervening, we can (and should) account for the environment. For example, with assessment of motor development status, it is possible to look at motor/physical proficiency aspects but also investigate aspects of the microsystem that may be related (for good or bad) with that motor development status. I'll be talking about some assessments that can help us understand specific environmental contexts here.

With intervention, it gets a little less "standardized" and more applicable - it is important that clinicians and teachers are in touch with a child's family, school, and other settings that directly or indirectly influence motor development status. It's common practice for therapists to make recommendations to parents on how they can supplement some of the practice at home or other environments. Teachers can do the same. But more than trying to find ways to potentially change the environment for better motor development outcomes, I believe that understanding motor development from a multifaceted perspective is the first things that needs to be clear. When we look at the diagram above everything is pretty reasonable and easy to understand, but when we look at a child, are we really him/her in the center of a much bigger picture?