The Association Between the Classroom Social Environment and Students’ Prosocial Behavior: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study

Prosocial behavior has been related to a variety of positive indices of psychosocial functioning during childhood andadolescence. However, most studies focusing on concurrent associations and individual-level predictors. This studyexamined short-term changes in prosocial behavior, focus on helping, and the relation between the classroom socialenvironment and students’ prosocial development. The classroom environment was assessed from two perspectives: the classroom climate tradition and the peer-relations framework. We collected data from 1594 preadolescents in 9 schools in Bogotá, Colombia, four times across one school year. Using a Multilevel Latent Growth Curve model, we examined the association of the classroom-level social structure (i.e., cohesion and prosocial-related classroom norms) and the classroom climate (i.e., teacher’s equity, teacher’s support, indiscipline, competition, rules clarity, and participation) with students’ prosocial behavior over time. Results showed that prosocial behavior tended to increase over time and that only classroom cohesion predicted positive changes in children’s prosocial behavior. These results are discussed considering the pedagogical implications for educational practitioners.