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Name: Thomas Rodger

Age: 9

Gender: Male

SES: Lower Class

Location: Bathurst, NSW

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Family Structure:Mother: Alex Rodger

Age: 32

Status: Divorced. Single parent to Cindy and Thomas

Relationship with Thomas: Strong friendship and family bond. Always encouraging and supporting Thomas in both his sporting and academic endeavors.

Father: Lucas Rodger

Age: 35

Status: Divorced. Recently re-married with 2 children.

Relationship with Thomas: Does not see Thomas often due to ‘new’ family. Lives 6 hours away and a makes contact occasionally for birthdays and

Christmas

Younger Sister: Cindy Rodger

Age: 6

Status: Student at Rosebay Primary

Relationship with Thomas: Cindy is perhaps one of Thomas closets friends. They grew closer in the build up to and after parents divorce. Not having close neighbors or other siblings has allowed them to spend a lot of time together at home.

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THE INDIVIDUAL

THOMAS RODGER

Loves to read

Very shy – only speaks when spoken too.

9 year oldmale

AsthmaticCatholic To End Map

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THE MICROSYSTEM

Play soccer for the Bathurst Rangers

Best Friend Adam

Works on family farm

Milks/feed cows

Looks after sheep

Farm maintenance

School: Bathurst Primary

Inner most system that influences the child directly.

6 Year old sister Cindy

Mother: Alex

Father: Lucas

(Divorced)

Lives on a farm on the edge of Bathurst. No immediate neighbors

Church: Holy Spirit Parish

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THE MESOSYTEM

School

Church

Family

Family Farm

Community

Without Thomas’ Family influence he would have never lived on a farm and learnt all the skills he possess to do manual labour. Living on a farm is what has made Thomas’ relationship with his sister so strong.

Thomas religious beliefs are inherited by his parents and the implementation of their faith in his everyday life. Alex takes Thomas and Cindy to church every Sunday.

The school is part of the local community in Bathurst, as it involves students, such as Thomas, in community initiatives such as clean up days and drug and alcohol awareness. Without school Thomas wouldn’t be such an active member of the community

Values from Church are evident in Thomas’ everyday behavior.

THOMAS RODGER

Bathurst is a fairly agricultural community. Without having lived and been apart of the community, Thomas and his family would proberly not live on a farm, at least not in this area.

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THE EXOSYSTEM

School

Church

Family

Family FarmCommunity

THOMAS RODGER

Parents financial Income and working schedules

Government

Agencies

Extended Family

Social Networks

Mass Media

EXOSYSTEMMESOSYSTEM

MICROSYSTEMINDIVIDUAL

• Alex provides the only financial support for Thomas and Cindy.

• Works 8 – 6 at the local council.

School Board

• Responsible for the building and maintenance of facilities in Bathurst which are used by members of the community such as Thomas.

•Impact on development of a child, even if they don’t realise it.

•Parent social networks from work, sporting team and any other social network the child.

• Shapes his behaviours, perceptions, reactions to situations and understanding of the wider world

• Effect individuals unintentionally as society is surrounded my media influence.

• Effects how the school runs

•Enforces rules, regulations and code of conduct behaviours

•Responsible for the funding of the school and where funds are to be spent.

• Little contact in made with extended family, such as Lucas’ new wife and kids.

•No cousins, aunts and uncles on mother side of the family.

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THE MACROSYSTEM

Laws and Legislation

Cultural Context

Technology• Rapidly changing to meet societal needs.

•Effects every aspect of a child life

•Used daily at home, school, travelling, learning, constructing , games, communicating etc

•Without it simple tasks would become difficult

•Important for children to understand how to use technology

• Bathurst is multicultural.

•Most people live near or on a farm.

•Catholicism is the predominate religious affiliation

•Town is the oldest inland settlement in Australia

• Laws effect how safe society is with law enforcement and punishment

•Without laws and legislation there would be no values instilled in society and therefore effect the well-being of a child such as Thomas.

•Driving laws, crime laws, public behaviour laws, although not specifically set in place for Thomas, effect him as he is an Australian citizen who is expected to follow the law.

MACROSYSTEM

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THE CHRONOSYSTEM

•With the on sought of draught, Thomas’ family has had additional hardships placed on the family in order to cope with the change which could become more severe over time.

Divorce

Death In the Family

Drought

• Thomas’ parents divorce was a temporal change in his life which produced new living conditions for his entire family.

Changes over Time•As Thomas ages he will change physically and emotionally. These changes occur over time and will inevitably present new challenges in life.

•Death of a family member is not planned, however can change a child completely.

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MACROSYSTEM

Laws and Legislation

Cultural Context

Technology

ECOLOGICALMAP

CHRONOSYSTEM

EXOSYSTEM

Income

Government Agencies

Extended Family

Social Networks

Mass

MediaSchool

Board

MESOSYSTEM

MICROSYSTEM

School

Church

Family

Family FarmCommunity

INDIVIDUALTHOMAS RODGER

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STATISTICSThese statistics are from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census data from different years. These statistics relate to different aspects of Thomas Rodger’s life.

Topic Statistic

Population 36630

Area 3820 square kilometres

Population born in Australian, 2001

25971

Single Parents in Bathurst With Dependent Children

822

Religious Affiliation Christian – 88.4%, of which 40.4% is Catholic followed by 28.7% Anglican.10.2% have have ‘no religion’

BATHURST STATISTICS

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Topic Statistic

Family Type, 2006One parent family with dependent children

10.7% of Australia’s population has a single parent that provides for their children.

Number of Divorces, 2006 Approx. 50,000 in 2006

Children ages 0-17 who had a natural parent living elsewhere.Frequency of face-to-face contact between parent-child.

26%, like Thomas, saw there parent once a year/never. While 18% saw them every 3-12 months. However most often at 33% the parent living elsewhere sees their child daily/weekly.

FAMILY STRUCTURE STATISTICS

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GRAPHS FROM THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF FAMILY STUDIES

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BIBLIOGRAPHYAustralian Government - Australian Institute of Family Studies (2009), Family Facts and Figures. Date retrieved: 15.3.09.

Website: http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/info/charts/contact/f2f/frequency-abs.html

The Bathurst Region Statistical Profile (2006), Appendices Prepared by

Bathurst Regional Council. Date retrieved: 15.3.09

Website: http://www.bathurst.nsw.gov.au/images/stories/pdfbed/StatisticalProfileAppen.pdf

Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2007) Urban and non-urban. Retrieved date: 15.3.09 ABS Website:http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/1301.0Feature%20Article72006?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=1301.0&issue=2006&num=&view=

http://www.countrynswaustralia.com.au/bathurst/statistics/

Bowes, J. (2009). Children Families and Communities: Contexts and Consequences Third Edition Australian: Oxford University Press