The impact of experiential learning on self-confidence in personal competence among students of Hung Vuong university of Ho Chi Minh city

This study examines whether participation in university-organised experiential learning activities strengthens students’ self-confidence in their own capabilities and whether lecturer support changes this relationship. The research was conducted at Hung Vuong University of Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, focusing on undergraduates who had recently attended seminars, workshops, panel discussions, or guest lectures related to their major. A mixed-method design was applied. First, survey data were collected from 284 students and analysed using structural equation modelling with a partial least squares estimation approach, including a product-term interaction to test moderation. Second, in-depth interviews with students and lecturers were used to explain how support practices shaped students’ interpretations of their experiences. The results indicate that lecturer support strongly predicts students’ engagement in experiential learning activities and also has a direct positive association with self-confidence. In contrast, experiential learning alone shows a weak and statistically non-significant direct association with self-confidence once lecturer support is considered. Importantly, the interaction effect is positive and significant, suggesting that experiential learning contributes more to self-confidence when lecturers provide clear briefing, emotional encouragement, opportunities for interaction, and structured reflection before, during, and after the activity. Interview findings align with the quantitative results by highlighting briefing, feedback, and debriefing as key mechanisms through which students reinterpret challenging experiences as mastery experiences. The study provides practical implications for designing experiential activities in local university contexts by embedding consistent lecturer support across the full experiential cycle.