Making Human Beings Human: Bioecological Perspectives on Human Development

Bronfenbrenner (emeritus human development and psychology, Cornell U.) has compiled 19 papers, one by colleagues, written between 1942 and 2001 on the nature of bioecological theory and research, and using the ecology of human development to enhance the human condition. His main thesis is that to a greater extent than for any other species, humans create the environments that shape the course of human development; that their actions influence the multiple physical and cultural tiers of the ecology that shapes them; and that this agency makes humans active producers of their own development. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Urie Bronfenbrenner is the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Human Development and Psychology at Cornell University.  He is best known as the founder and principal protagonist of his ground-breaking theory of the "Ecology of Human Development."  Bronfenbrenner is one of the founders of Head Start and the recipient of numerous distinguished awards including six honorary degrees, three from European universities.  He was the first recipient of the American Psychological Association's annual Bronfenbrenner Award for Lifetime Contribution to Developmental Psychology in the Service of Science and Society.  He has taught, lectured, consulted, and carried out research in the United States and all over the world, mainly in both Eastern and Western Europe, Japan, and Australia.  His publications have been extensive and far-reaching .  Urie Bronfenbrenner is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Psychological Society, American Psychological Association, Society for Research in Child Development, National Academy of Education, and the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development.  Bronfenbrenner received his Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Music from Cornell University, his Master's Degree from Harvard University, and his Doctorate from the University of Michigan.  After service in the Armed Forces and a brief period at the University of Michigan, he returned to Cornell University for a long productive life of research and teaching, as well as assisting with the raising of his six children.  Since his retirement in 1987, he has continued toresearch, to write, to teach, and to travel extensively.