Determinants of Students’ Communication Confidence: Testing the Dewesia Conceptual Model in the Philippine Context

ABSTRACT : Communication confidence is an essential competency that enables students to express ideas effectively in academic and social settings. This study examined the relationship between the DEWESIA Conceptual Model and students’ communication confidence among 294 students in Northern Mindanao, Philippines. Specifically, it assessed the effectiveness of the DEWESIA Conceptual Model, determined students’ communication confidence, examined the relationship between these variables, identified the model’s significant predictors of communication confidence, and tested differences according to educational level and English language proficiency. A descriptive-correlational research design with stratified random sampling was employed. Data were collected using the DEWESIA Conceptual Model Questionnaire and McCroskey’s Communication Confidence Scale and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rank-order correlation, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression. Results revealed that students demonstrated high communication confidence and perceived the DEWESIA Conceptual Model as highly effective. Significant positive relationships were found between the model and all communication confidence domains. Regression analysis showed that the DEWESIA Conceptual Model significantly predicted communication confidence, explaining 24.2% of its variance, with the Example dimension emerging as the only significant predictor. Communication confidence also significantly differed according to educational level and English language proficiency. The findings support the DEWESIA Conceptual Model as an effective framework for enhancing students’ communication confidence and provide evidence for its integration into communication and instructional practices.

Keywords: DEWESIA Conceptual Model, communication confidence, communication competence, descriptive-correlational research, higher education