AI Literacy Interventions in Education: A Meta-Analysis of Effects and Moderators

In brief: Liu, Lin, Ng, Yang, and Dai conduct a three-level meta-analysis of 59 empirical studies (172 effect sizes, 7,211 participants) on AI literacy interventions. They find a large, statistically significant overall effect (g = 0.837, p < .001) with substantial heterogeneity; moderator analyses show interventions in East Asia and Europe outperformed those in North America, and knowledge-focused interventions outperformed those targeting skills, attitudes, or Ethics. They conclude AI literacy education should move beyond knowledge toward skills, practices, Ethics, and attitudes, supported by integrated and reflective pedagogies and GenAI-supported tools.

This meta-analysis answers the question of how — and under what conditions — AI literacy interventions support student development. Synthesizing 172 effect sizes from 59 studies and 7,211 participants, it estimates a large overall effect (g = 0.837) but with a wide 95% prediction interval [−0.292, 1.966], indicating effectiveness varies considerably across settings. Moderator analyses identify geographical region and learning-outcome focus as significant: interventions in East Asia and Europe yielded stronger effects than North America, and knowledge-focused interventions outperformed those targeting skills, attitudes, or ethics.

The paper's central argument is that AI literacy education should move beyond knowledge and conceptual understanding toward skills, practices, Ethics, and attitudes. This shift is best supported, the authors suggest, by integrated pedagogies that combine conceptual learning, hands-on making, reflection, and GenAI-supported tools — including constructionist and socio-constructivist approaches such as project- and Problem Based Learning, inquiry-based learning, and Experiential Learning environments. The geographic variation highlights the need for culturally relevant, context-sensitive interventions that respond to local educational priorities, technological conditions, and learner needs.

Key Findings

• 59 studies, 172 effect sizes, 7,211 participants synthesized via a three-level meta-analysis.
• Large overall effect: g = 0.837, p < .001, with a wide prediction interval [−0.292, 1.966] indicating considerable variation.
• Geography matters: interventions in East Asia and Europe yielded stronger effects than those in North America.
• Knowledge-focused interventions outperformed those targeting skills, attitudes, or ethics.
• Larger (nonsignificant) effects were observed for mixed or reflective pedagogies, generative AI tools, and performance tasks.
• Conclusion: AI literacy education should move beyond knowledge toward skills, practices, ethics, and attitudes, via integrated and reflective pedagogies.

Connected Concepts

• AI Literacy — the target of the interventions
• AI Ed Evaluation — meta-analytic evaluation of AI literacy outcomes
• Pedagogy — the instructional approaches examined
• Assessment — the performance-task outcomes
• Generative AI — the GenAI-supported tools
• Higher Ed — a common intervention setting
• K 12 — a common intervention setting
• Project Based Learning — an integrated pedagogy found effective

Connected Articles

• Xiong AI Educational Measurement Review 2026 — companion on AI in educational measurement
• Panciroli AI Literacy Episodes Situated Learning — AI literacy in situated learning
• Hingle Collaborative AI Literacy 2025 — collaborative AI literacy
• Tracing GenAI Literacy Interaction Patterns — GenAI literacy interaction patterns
• Sec AI Literacy Narrative Review 2026 — narrative review of AI literacy

Citation

Liu, S., Lin, Z., Ng, O. L., Yang, Y., & Dai, Y. (2026). AI literacy interventions in education: A meta-analysis of effects and moderators. Educational Research Review, 52, 100813.