The gender of a student plays a critical role in determining his or her success academically. This means that gender affects the performance of both boys and girls in the school environment. Studies show that the school does not convene the needs of a child in the way that is expected because of the narrower understanding of the terms masculinity and femininity. For instance, a young boy aged twelve by the name Brian is unable to excel academically because the society ascribes some roles to him that are not within his reach. Socially, Brian is expected to perform well in some courses, which have always been associated with boys, even though his talent is different. This denies him the chance of excelling because he is best at doing the things perceived to belong to girls. The school does not offer opportunities to students, which would encourage them to pursue courses and activities that they desire. Due to this, Brian ends up achieving some of the goals that are not in line with his expectations. One of the academic policy introduced in Australia states that girls should stay longer in school than boys. This also denies girls an opportunity to interact with the environment. The educational curriculum provides different courses for boys and girls, something that denies Brian a chance to pursue a course of his dream. The curriculum encourages girls to pursue male-dominated subjects, but boys are not offered with an opportunity to choose courses independently. This affects Brian in many ways because he is not interested in undertaking some of the subjects recommended for men. Since Brian has the desire of proving that he is a man, he engages in violence and other risky behaviours that put his life and those of others at jeopardy.
Bronfenbrenner formulated a theory that can be used to understand the behaviour of Brian. The theory states that the behaviour of an individual could be determined through the study of the environment. Brian interacts so much with his family, which affects his socialization since he is made to believe that I should be courageous and violent. In fact, Brian makes his judgments based on the knowledge gained at the family level. Bronfenbrenner termed this layer of interaction as a microsystem. Mesosystem refers to the connectivity of various agencies such as the church and the family. This affects the performance of Brian in several ways. One of the effects is that religion teaches him that men should always be the heads of the family, meaning that boys are superior to girls. This serves to confirm the notion that men should undertake powerful courses in school. Exosystem refers to the immediate environment that affects the socialization of the child, including the peer and the social network. Through the peer group, Brian learns that boys are favoured because girls are instructed to respect boys and never to engage in violent conflicts with them. This confirms to Brian that men are superior and masculine. When relationships are formed, boys are likely to form their groups while girls would also create their groups. However, the groups made up of boys only are always respected. Macrosystem refers to cultural beliefs and the media, which affects the performance of individuals in society. Brian is socialized to believe that he should not associate with girls easily. Chronosystem is the last layer that has had a considerable effect on the behaviour of Brian. It refers to the changes that Brian goes through as time goes by. Brian is expected to accomplish specific missions and adopt some behaviours as he grows. This puts much pressure on his life, which would affect his educational experience.