The Ecological Imperative

The Daily Life of One Distressed Child

Abstract

First, an ecological perspective is used to evaluate the quality of mainstream child development research designs which include observational data collection procedures. Based on a review of three years of publication in Child Development, it is clear that ecological variables such as activity, setting, time of day, and week of study or time of year are not systematically examined. Mainstream child development researchers continue to ignore the ecological validity of their studies. Second, a preliminary analysis of a case study is presented to illustrate the need for greater attention to ecological factors. This is particularly relevant to practitioners and researchers who design and evaluate therapeutic environments for children with special needs such as the "emotionally disturbed" child who is the focus of this study. Seven Tuesdays of continuous observations from wake-up time (about 7 am) until bedtime (about 9 pm) provide the data for this case study. Findings pertaining to ecological factors of activity, place, time of day, and week of study were considered in relation to interpersonal factors of adult press for compliance and child compliance.