It has become known why boys perform worse academically than girls

Boys perform worse than girls under the influence of friends - this is the conclusion of a new study conducted by Margrit van Hek, an educational sociologist from the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands. The results of her work were published in the scientific journal Research in Social Stratification and Mobility.

The study showed: the more often friends break the rules, the lower the student's own grades become. In general, boys' friends tend to behave worse than girls' friends.

Margrit van Hek analyzed survey data from more than ten thousand teenagers aged fourteen to sixteen from the Netherlands, Germany, England, and Sweden. Using the results of two consecutive surveys, the researcher was able to track how friends' behavior influenced teenagers' school grades a year later. In particular, she compared the academic performance of boys and girls in subjects such as native language and mathematics. The difference is especially noticeable in language scores: in all four countries, boys consistently receive lower scores than girls. As for mathematics, boys show slightly higher results, but this advantage apparently diminishes between the ages of fourteen and fifteen.

Bad behavior

"If your friends behave badly, you are more likely to start doing the same," explains the researcher. "And if, for example, you start skipping classes more often, your grades will decrease accordingly. Thus, friends' bad behavior has an indirect effect on academic performance. But there is also a more direct effect: even teenagers who themselves behave well face deteriorating results due to their friends' inappropriate behavior. For example, because the teacher cannot fully explain the material when some students disrupt the lesson."

Popularity

According to Van Hek, the destructive influence of friends on boys' academic performance is related to traditional gender norms: "Boys' bad behavior is connected to societal expectations directed at them. To become popular, they must be physically developed, not just obey authorities and especially not engage in what is considered 'girly': listening to the teacher, trying hard, reading books, and so on. These expectations are harmful: boys study worse, have lower language proficiency, and more often leave school without a diploma. As a result, their chances of good employment decrease. It is very important that politicians, school administrators, and teachers understand this. Educational institutions should create an atmosphere where students feel complete freedom in choosing interests and behavior models, regardless of their gender."

The researcher also added that in the future, attention should be paid to collecting data on aspects such as traditional gender norms in the school environment and the level of peer pressure that encourages teenagers to follow certain roles. "This would allow a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying my conclusions," she concluded.