Pro-social Behavior amongst Students of Tertiary Institutions: An Explorative and a Quantitative approach

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to explore antecedents of Pro-social behavior amongst university students, using a Private university as a case study. Following an explorative research, the study was guided by some theories relating to the phenomenon, focusing on gender and location factors. A quantitative approach was used in the follow up to the exploratory research. A total of 520 structured questionnaires, based on the total population, were distributed out of which 271 were returned. Thus the response rate was approximately 52%. A parametric technique involving independent samples T-Test and one-way between-groups ANOVA with Post-hoc tests (using SPSS, 4^th edition, version 18).was employed. The scale used in the measurement was highly validated. The results showed that the relationships between gender and location factors as independent factors and prosocial behavior as dependent factor was highly positive amongst the students. Prosocial behavior is a positive social phenomenon. Thus, the promotion of pro-social culture amongst university students will make them adapt progressively to society, including that of tertiary institutions. Some changes in the curricula could be made to include elements of pro-social behavior.

Keywords: Pro-social behaviour, tertiary institutions, quantitative studies, students’ education administration, Ghana