A Convergent - Parallel Study on the Interpersonal Communication Skills of BEED Teacher Education Students

This study used mixed methods approach that examined the level of interpersonal communication skills. Thus, a convergent parallel mixed methods design was used since it is a type of design that could gather different but complementary data on the same topic. Random sampling was used to identify the 100 respondents for the quantitative phase and 14 for the qualitative: seven (7) for IDI and seven (7) for FGD were purposively selected. In the quantitative phase, the results of this study revealed that first year BEEd students oftentimes manifest their interpersonal skill through various aspects such as environment control, self- disclosure, assertiveness, interaction management, and immediacy. In qualitative phase, it was revealed that they were employing cross-cultural communication competence, embracing criticism or personal growth and professional development, encountering challenges in conveying messages in public speaking, and having disparities in communicating with varying individuals. Also, the students’ insights shared were creating a positive and inclusive communication environment, seeking personal growth and self-development through interpersonal communication, cultivating interpersonal communication competencies, and applying holistic understanding through non-verbal cues. Data integration of both quantitative and qualitative data results indicated that there is convergence of findings from both types of data.