An experimental study on the mediating roles of career decision-making self-efficacy between digital media literacy and employment choices of university students
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study designs: Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical Trial
Abstract: Algorithmic recommendation now shapes the career information university students see, yet whether raising students' understanding of these algorithms improves employment choices remains unclear. This study tested a dynamic bidirectional mediation model linking digital media literacy, career decision making self efficacy (CDMSE), and employment choices, with Algorithmic Awareness for Careers (AAC) specified as a distinct subdimension of digital media literacy. In a 2 × 2 factorial randomized controlled trial, 204 graduating undergraduates from three universities in southern China were assigned to Media Critical Literacy Training (MCLT), Career Algorithm Transparency Training (CATT), both, or neither; 192 completed four assessment waves ending 6 months after graduation. CATT mainly raised AAC (partial η 2 = 0.128), MCLT mainly raised critical literacy (partial η 2 = 0.096), and the two components jointly strengthened CDMSE. Parallel process latent growth modeling showed that AAC growth predicted CDMSE growth (β = 0.42), which in turn predicted later AAC [β = 0.28, 95% CI (0.13, 0.43)], and that CDMSE carried a significant indirect effect to a composite employment outcome [0.151, 95% CI (0.077, 0.238)]. Relative to the control condition, the combined condition was associated with better outcomes 6 months after graduation, including more document verified offers, an 18.1% higher starting salary, closer externally coded major job match, and greater employment satisfaction. The findings identify AAC as a trainable component of digital media literacy, empirically operationalize the bidirectional feedback assumed by social cognitive career theory, and support embedding algorithm transparency training in university career education.
Source: Frontiers in Psychology
Author: Shuang Wu
Institution: Dongbei University of Finance and Economics
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
OpenAlex ID: W7223181970