Bronfenbrenner, Urie

Introduction

Urie Bronfenbrenner was a psychologist and human development theorist. His theory and writing evolved into what became known as “the ecology of human development.” Bronfenbrenner also notably had a significant impact in public policy as it relates child development in the United States, consulting with congress in the 1960s to help design and construct the Head Start program which has provided hundreds of thousands of under-resourced children access to early childhood education.

Career

Bronfenbrenner was born in Moscow, but he and his family moved to the United States when he was 6 years old. His father was a neuropathologist, who spent a good deal of his career advocating for under-resourced children in New York City. Bronfenbrenner went on to attend Cornell University for undergraduate study, majoring in music and psychology. He then earned a master’s in education at Harvard University and finally a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from the University of Michigan. He...