- Dr. Roberto Roche-Olivar, Department of Educational Psychology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain.
Dr. Roche-Olivar spoke about the need for the education of young people to include the teaching of values (human education) in particular `prosociality' (`those actions that tend to benefit other people without the prospect of an external personal benefit'), the challenges teachers face in their everyday attempts to integrate this human education, and the way in which combining service-learning and prosociality might help work towards accomplishing this. Models of prosociality have been tested with positive results and have been put into place in a number of schools in Spain, with some schools in Italy and the Czech Republic following a similar model, and pilot programmes of service-learning may start in Catalonia.
Probably one of the great challenges that faces education in the 21st century will be the harmonizing of its aim of transmitting an instrumental knowledge of the vertiginous development in science and technology to the young, with another fundamental aim in line with that of a strongly awakening humanitarian sensibility - the provision of a complete personal formation, a formation that would include giving both the fullest possible psychological development, based on the ability to handle interpersonal relationships, and the investing of such ability with the necessary profundity expected of an individual in possession of a coherent nucleus of identity. In numerous countries it has been impossible to achieve this balance, because too little space and time is made available to teachers for imparting the values needed to help young people achieve this complete personal formation. Yet, paradoxically, there are frequent complaints - which accompany the social demand for efficiency and professional skill - about the lack of values in our society, and how this lack is affecting youth and society in general.
Prosociality is a value which is of great interest to specialists, because of the apparent benefits that it brings to the members of a given relationship, and because prosocial behaviour is currently considered as the best strategy with which to prevent and face growing expressions of aggression and social violence. It is also seen as protecting and optimizing the mental health of those who practise it. A more complete definition of prosociality, which has a more fully social and collective dimension, which takes a realistic motivational component into account, and which avoids religious or ideological appropriation of prosociality (permitting communication and reciprocity between all human and social systems) would be: `those behaviours that, without any prospect of an external reward, favour other people, groups or social objectives, and increase the probability of generating a positive reciprocity, which will in turn promote solidarity on the following interpersonal and social relationships, safeguarding the identity, creativity and the initiative of the individuals or groups involved' (Roche, 1991).
In trying to integrate this human education, teachers face challenges and have difficult questions to answer: can they help bring about positive change in, not only the school, but the young people's families, communities and society at large?; can the increasing violence and aggression in society and, increasingly, in schools, be self-controlled, transformed and substituted through prosocial behaviour?; how can negative attitudes and modes of behaviour be modified in general?; does prosocial behaviour really have educational potential with benefits for both those who are at the receiving end and social co-existence in general?; and can teachers set out serious, prosocial changes in personal and institutional interaction in the context of the staff-room and the classroom? To try to help teachers face these challenges and answer these questions, a prosociality programme model was developed and programmes have been put into place and evaluated in a number of schools in Catalonia. Seeing prosociality in practice and evaluating it, has contributed to greater understanding and advances in the theory and design of the programmes. Programmes are supported by training and awareness-raising conferences, and support materials which can be transferred to use in other contexts - the family, youth associations, sport etc.
The prosocial behaviour which lies at the heart of prosociality includes actions such as physical help and service, giving and sharing, verbal help and consolation, confirmation and positive valuing, deep listening, empathy, solidarity, and positive presence and unity. Among the consequences of prosocial behaviour we can find the following characteristic effects: prevention or even eradication of antagonism and violence; promotion of positive quality reciprocity and solidity in group and personal relationships, and the valuing of inter-group attributes; increasing of the self-esteem and sense of identity for the individual or groups involved; development of interpersonal and social empathy - so increasing flexibility and avoiding dogmatism; promotion of the quality of communication through stimulation of attitudes and skills geared towards communication; stimulation of creativity and initiative; moderation of dependency tendencies; and re-enforcement of self-control.
Looking at these actions which constitute prosociality, it can be seen that there is a very close relationship between Prosociality and Service-Learning: in service-learning there is a reciprocal exchange of physical help, physical service and verbal help between the student and the monitors of the various projects; a giving and sharing of mutual experiences; and an exchange of confirmation and positive valuing of others. It also helps structure the student's self-esteem. Including, as it does, innumerable ways in which students are able to carry out important, meaningful service for their community and for society as a whole, whilst necessarily thinking about or studying the implications of their actions, Service-Learning reflects the belief that education must be connected to social responsibility, and that the most effective learning is that which is actively linked to experience, above all when this contains the meaningful element of social usefulness. In Service-Learning, the student can enter fully into the spirit of belief in the fact that his or her development and learning processes are intimately (and dialectically) connected to and for the benefit of others.
Investigations are now being conducted into putting this into practice - combining prosociality, the teaching and integration of prosocial values and behaviour, with the practice of service-learning which reinforces and develops those values. Pilot programmes may start in Catalonia.
4th
Global conference on national youth service (1998) 
