Perception of university students about social responsibility: between social outbreak and the health crisis

Abstract

This research study seeks to describe university students’ perceptions of social responsibility from the perspective of social outbreaks (“Estallido Social”) and the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile. An instrument is applied to a non-probabilistic sample of 153 university students from southern Chile. An exploratory factor analysis is performed and statistically significant differences are examined considering the sociodemographic characteristics of the sample. The results show differences according to occupation, socioeconomic level, and the criterion variable. The most significant correlation is observed between “personal discovery of values” and “professional practice with social commitment.” It is concluded that universities must develop efforts to design policies, strategies, practices, and actions for training in socially responsible behavior by considering current contexts and the challenges of a society damaged by the pandemic