ABSTRACT
Drawing on the work of Bronfenbrenner, an ecological frame considers gender relations and notions of masculinity as elements of social development characterized by individuals and the social organization of which they are part. The ecological model of human development, articulated by Bronfenbrenner, provides a theoretical framework for considering the multiple contexts influencing boys' reading experiences within educational spaces. The developing child is at the core of the microsystem of the inner circle and includes the child's experiences and interactions within everyday environmental settings such as the home, school and neighbourhood that construct the world of the child. The mesosystem consists of the relationships and interactions between significant people in the child's microsystem. These interrelationships make up the second level of the model and include relations between home and the school and between home and the workplace environment of carers. The macrosystem consists of the dominant cultural, political and economic environments of the time in a particular society.
