Service-Learning, Spiritual Orientation, and Social Entrepreneurship: A exploration of the Vikings Club of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The primary goal of this research is to explore the impact of a student's service-learning experience gained through working on social entrepreneurship projects and participating in corporate social responsibility activities (CSR) on a student's change in their spiritual orientation as a change in attitude towards social and community development. This exploratory study analyzed 20 transformational stories from Viking Club students at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura (USJ) using snowballing to select the suitable respondents. The Viking Club is a student-led club at the USJ that promotes social entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka along with the active engagement in CSR activities. In-depth questionnaire was based on the author's personal experiences, autoethnography as the instrument to comprehend and capture the participants' real experiences of transformative change using a qualitative research approach. According to the findings, active participation in the Viking Club's social  entrepreneurship and CSR activities boosted empathetic behavior and developed a more empathic attitude that was socially responsible, happy, as well as sustainable. The students appeared to be more inspired to work collaboratively and to put forth more effort in sharing love with others, which represents the evolution of spiritual orientation and how it has combined with social entrepreneurship to achieve the club's ultimate vision of “Solving social problems in Sri Lanka through Entrepreneurship”.The paper thereby gives theoretical and practical implications.