Promoting prosocial pupil behaviour: 1-A multilevel theoretical model

Background. Usually much attention is given to different forms of antisocia l pupil behaviour. One of the possibilities to prevent or reduce this behav iour is to stimulate educational conditions that foster prosocial pupil beh aviour. Aim. To specify a theoretical multilevel model to promote prosocial pupil b ehaviour. The model should allow empirical checks on the occurrence of pupi l level effects because of educational changes at the classroom and school level. Methods. Information from the literature and previous research is used to c onstruct a three-level model in which longitudinal pupil effects are caused by classroom and school characteristics, while controlling for covariables ,The causal class and school variables mainly refer to pupils' participatio n and responsibility in specifying and controlling behavioural and didactic rules, and are assumed to be related to didactic differentiation during le ssons. Results. The multilevel theorising results in a model of social-pedagogical and didactic class and school variables, of home and peer support variable s, and of their potential effects on the development of a pupil's prosocial behaviour. The three-level model will be empirically checked in a second a rticle (this issue).