SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SOCIAL COHESION AS DRIVERS IN THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to theoretically, methodologically and practically explore social responsibility and social cohesion and justify their role as driving forces in the sustainable development of universities. This paper focuses on the rationale for various aspects of the development of social responsibility and social cohesion, and specifically in higher education. The article defines the importance of the values of social cohesion and social development and their implementation in the education of socially responsible youth. Listed the main categories in which the social responsibility of the higher education can be determined and applied for the educational management effectiveness. This article aims to show the role of social cohesion and social responsibility in the implementation of the principles of  sustainable development, and to reveal the relations between the values of social cohesion and social responsibility and the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Methodology. Scientific analysis is carried out with the help of an interdisciplinary system of methods, namely, system analysis, interviewing, statistical data analysis, comparison, etc. Social synergetics and system approach are applied to the issues of education management.Results. The methodological approaches to the formation of modern educational and management models for universities are considered. The model of the social cohesion of the university community is analyzed. The university management strategy based on the values and principles of social responsibility and social cohesion is described. Ways to improve the economic and managerial efficiency of universities and society, respectively, are considered. The process of self-organization in education management and parameters of its ordering are defined.The most significant scientific results: the attitude and development of such values as social responsibility and social cohesion in the Ukrainian educational community were investigated; the sustainable development of universities as the best practice and factor of influence on socio-economic development was determined; the role of social responsibility and social cohesion as parameters of order in enhancing the sustainable development of universities and society respectively was substantiated.The practical significance of the study lies in the actualization of the need to develop social responsibility and social cohesion in the Ukrainian educational community, which is confirmed by statistical data, as well as the possibility of their application in the educational process and value-based management of education. The use of these results in the practice of education management allows us to create a model of social responsibility of universities and outline the directions of its implementation, to develop and implement a mechanism for monitoring the implementation of social responsibility, to study the actual level of social cohesion of the university community, to suggest ways for its further development, aimed at improving the competitiveness of universities in a globalized environment.Value/originality. The originality of the study lies in the combination of the two key values of the EU and their correspondence to the SDGs and the sustainable development of universities on the basis of value-based education management. A social synergetic approach is applied to issues of educational governance.