Childhood prosocial behavior in the school environment

Abstract

Although the study of childhood prosocial behavior is not new, there has been a recent surge in the number of studies on this topic due to increases in violence and aggression in all social environments. According to the principles of positive psychology, the promotion of prosocial behavior involves strengthening a repertoire of alternative behaviors that inhibit negative and antisocial behaviors in children while providing an adequate remedy to the expression of aggressiveness, violence, and indifference towards others. As previous studies have suggested, there are many positive effects that produce prosocial behavior throughout childhood development at the social, emotional, and cognitive levels. In this chapter, we will analyze why schools provide an appropriate context to promote helpfulness, giving and sharing, verbal comfort, positive appreciation of others, and cooperative behavior. A literature review on this subject will be compared to the results obtained following the implementation of a program directed at promoting childhood prosocial behavior in a school context. These results support the possibility of strengthening prosociality in this environment through the implementation of adequate strategies and models. Teaching children to cooperate and help others, to share and be altruistic, to accept and forgive others mistakes, and to show sympathy, empathy, and compassion should be part of any school's objectives to foster the harmonious and integral development of children.