Nurturing human compassion through social entrepreneurship: Evident from Malaysian university
Abstract
This study determines how social entrepreneurship learning using “Social Entrepreneurship: Module from the University to the Disabled Community," helps nurturing the compassion of Malaysian university students. The module includes ten units designed to give students hands-on experience with social entrepreneurship activities. 240 students in total are divided into two groups. 112 students are placed in a control group and 128 in a treatment group. While the control group followed traditional teaching methods, the treatment group was treated using the aforesaid social entrepreneurship module. An independent sample t-test was used to compare the social entrepreneurship levels between the two groups, showing a significant improvement among the students in the treatment group. Additionally, regression analysis highlighted the positive influence of specific module content on the compassion of participants in the treatment group. Notably, Unit 1: Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship (β = 0.339, p < .05) and Unit 8: Finance and Financing of Social Entrepreneurship Projects (β = 0.243, p < .05) accounted for a 4.4% variance in participants' altruism levels [F (2, 125) = 21.594, p < .05]. It is strongly recommended that this module be incorporated into Malaysian university curricula to nurture socially entrepreneurial and compassionate graduates.
Keywords: Compassion, learning approach, modular, social entrepreneurship
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