Prosocial behaviors and interculturality in educational contexts in Ecuador: Effects of the Intervention Program

Abstract

The study evaluated the effect of an educational program on prosocial behaviors and intercultural competence in adolescents from the Juan Jacob Rousseau and Juan Dagoberto Montenegro schools (Santa Elena, Ecuador). A quantitative, cross-sectional, relational design was used, with 191 students aged 11 to 15 years distributed into three cohorts: a control group (n=36), an initial group in 2024 (n=79), and a final group in 2025 (n=76). A Likert-type questionnaire was administered, measuring eight dimensions (motivation, helping, context, impact, cultural diversity, attitudes, adaptive communication, and conflict resolution). Non-parametric analyses (Kruskal-Wallis, Dunn with Bonferroni correction) showed significant differences between cohorts in all dimensions, with progressive improvement from the control group to the final group in 2025. The final group presented the highest means (M ≈ 4.06, 4.42), lowest variability, and largest effect sizes, especially in motivation (r = 0.41), impact (r = 0.39), and conflict resolution (r = 0.46). Conflict resolution was the dimension most sensitive to change. It is concluded that the structured workshop program (8 sessions on intercultural empathy, adaptive communication, and conflict resolution) generates a cumulative effect and consolidates prosocial and intercultural competencies, and its systematic inclusion in school coexistence plans is recommended.