Prosocial behaviour axioms and values: Influence of gender and volunteering

Abstract To promote prosocial behaviour, in the present study, we observed the human values that may predict it within the realms of the transcendental views of life, society's shared culture and the world of personal and interpersonal affections. To do this, we started with two hypotheses: (1) prosocial behaviour differs according to gender and participation in volunteering; and (2) the variables of transcendental values, cultural development, affective development, gender and participation in volunteering predict prosocial behaviour. To do so, we conducted a quantitative study based on the cross-sectional, social analytical-empirical research method. We used a validated instrument with a large sample of 1,712 individuals living in the multicultural context of the Spanish city of Melilla, located in North Africa and one of only two land borders between Europe and Morocco. Values that could promote prosocial behaviour were grouped into four dimensions to locate relevant factors that helped identify which values are linked to specific actions, both formal and informal, through an inferential analysis focusing on regression and multivariate analysis of variance. Our findings highlighted the linkage of the transcendent dimension of the individual in relation to his or her level of prosocial behaviour and the role of women as socialising agents.

Structural Equations Model (SEM) of a questionnaire on the evaluation of intercultural secondary education classrooms / Modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM) de un cuestionario sobre la evaluación de clases interculturales de educación secundaria

This research includes the design of a questionnaire for evaluating cultural coexistence in secondary education classrooms (Berrocal, Olmedo & Olmos, 2014; Olmedo et al., 2014), as well as the comparison of its psychometric properties in a multicultural population of schools in southern Spain. An attempt is made to create a valid, reliable and useful tool for teachers to measure conflict situations in the classroom, as well as understanding the nature of the conflict from the point of view of all those involved. The metric aspects show a maximized content and construct validity (Muñiz, 2010) using a Structural Equation Model (SEM) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) analysis, checking and modifying its model by Wald and Lagrange indicators (Bentler, 2007), to obtain the most adjusted model to the theoretical and goodness criteria.

Esta investigación incluye el diseño de un cuestionario para la evaluación de la coexistencia en las clases de educación secundaria (Berrocal, Olmedo & Olmos, 2014; Olmedo et al., 2014) y la comparación de sus propiedades psicométricas en una población multicultural de centros educativos en el sur de España. Se busca crear un instrumento válido, fiable como instrumento, útil al profesorado para evaluar las situaciones de conflicto en el aula, pero entendiendo la naturaleza del conflicto desde el punto de vista de aquellos que están involucrados en él. Los aspectos métricos muestran una alta validez de contenido y constructo (Muñiz, 2010) empleando un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM) y un análisis factorial confirmatorio (CFA), para comprobar y modificar su modelo de acuerdo con los indicadores de Wald y Lagrange (Bentler, 2007), para obtener el modelo más ajustado a la teoría y los criterios de bondad.