Literature review on social responsibility in higher education

Abstract

Amy Parsons compiles this literature review for the UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education, co-located at the University of Victoria and PRIA. The review looks at the state of the field internationally, working through key themes such as social responsibility as a core function of the university, the role of the institution in society, partnerships with communities, and the field's treatment of morality and ethics. It takes up the parallel concept of University Social Responsibility, drawn from corporate social responsibility, and traces challenges including neoliberalism, shifts in internal governance, and imbalances in how stakeholders are valued. A jurisdictional scan of policy-based definitions spans the European Union, Africa, Latin America, Asia and North America, alongside a look at demographic gaps in the literature. The review closes by setting this literature against the broader field of community-university engagement and flagging areas for further work.