University social responsibility (USR) in the context of Peruvian society: A systematic review

The university social responsibility (USR) goes beyond the traditional extension and solidary social projection of the universities, but the professional USR goes beyond traditional university outreach and social extension, emphasizing the responsibility of universities as institutions to systematically contribute to societal development through teaching, research, governance, and engagement with stakeholders. The objective is to carry out a systematic review of the scientific production related to USR in Peru and to analyse the most important findings of this production.

A systematic review of articles in English and Spanish in Scopus, Redalyc, and SciELO was carried out, searching for research related to USR in the Peruvian context. Articles on USR in Latin America or the world were excluded. The search and filtering of articles was carried out until February 2023. Several filters were applied, starting with the search for titles according to the search equation. Then, articles that did not deal with USR were eliminated. Subsequently, abstracts were read and those that did not meet the inclusion criteria were discarded. Finally, the remaining research was analysed to obtain the necessary information for the research.

A total of 20 articles were analysed. The main results showed that university social responsibility in the Peruvian context seeks to benefit society and to form ethical and responsible students. However, more policies and actions are needed to encourage the participation of all universities in USR. It was found that 65% of the literature had a quantitative approach, 30% was qualitative and only 5% was mixed.

University Social Responsibility (USR) seeks to benefit society, being students the key actors to improve their country with the professional development acquired in higher institutions. The implication for future research is to carry out more studies on USR but within the national university centres in the highlands and jungle areas of Peru, where it is possible to show the state of this topic in other areas of Peru.