Teaching Social Responsibility to University Students: World Best Practices

Raising social responsibility is an important strategic issue for the global psychological and pedagogical community. Social responsibility is an integrative personal quality that redirects personal activity to communal needs. At university, social responsibility means students’ sociality, i.e., social self-realization as a subject of actual social relations. The authors analyzed social design programs implemented in universities worldwide to promote social responsibility and social connections as part of communal project activities. Practice-oriented pedagogical methods proved especially effective when manifested as Service Learning, a new area of pedagogical practice in Russian and foreign higher education that combines learning with community work as part of specific social projects. Social design develops and implements initiatives aimed at solving current social problems. The article describes the principles, factors, and prospects of social design, as well as the successful algorithms of social programs implemented in various universities around the world. The technological architecture of social responsibility programs was studied based on their elements and structure. Most best practices seem to rely on the idea of contributing to the common good as part of social projects of public significance. This review of global experience may help to develop the national programs for service learning and social responsibility development at university.