The video above shows Lea, a teacher in Lebanon, reflecting on how she has applied the Ecological Systems Theory to her teaching practice.

Lea explains that the theory helped her to consider what other factors - or ecological systems - outside of school could be influencing a child in her class. This led her to explore what those factors could be by engaging with the child’s family. This meant that although her teaching role mostly involved working in the microsystem (that is, working directly with the child in class), she could also engage with the mesosystem (where different elements of the child’s microsystem interact). This helped her to take more informed actions when she returned to class.

Over to you

In the forum below, discuss

• In what ways could the theory help teachers to understand how different system level factors affect their students’ learning and wellbeing in contexts of conflict and displacement?

• How could this theory help you to help your own students?

© UCL and the Inclusive Education Foundation (CoMOOCs Team), CC BY 4.0

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