AI Literacy, Safety Awareness, and STEM Career Aspirations of Australian Secondary Students: Evaluating the Impact of Workshop Interventions

TL;DR

This study evaluates Day of AI Australia’s one-day workshop intervention aimed at increasing AI literacy, safety awareness, and STEM career interest among Australian secondary students (Years 7–10). Using a mixed-methods pre/post design with $N=205$ pre and $N=163$ post, it tracks changes in AI knowledge, confidence, and the ability to identify AI in daily tools, alongside attitudes toward ethics and careers; qualitative analysis of open responses complements the quantitative findings. Results show significant gains in self-reported AI knowledge ($r=0.445$) and understanding of AI training and bias, and improved recognition of AI in platforms such as Netflix, TikTok, and Spotify (e.g., Netflix $+27.1 ext{ }box{ } ext{ extpercent}$). However, career-aspiration shifts are small, indicating that a single workshop is insufficient to drive long-term trajectories, highlighting the need for sustained, curriculum-integrated approaches to scalable AI literacy and synthetic-media safety in schools.

Abstract

Deepfakes and other forms of synthetic media pose growing safety risks for adolescents, yet evidence on students' exposure and related behaviours remains limited. This study evaluates the impact of Day of AI Australia's workshop-based intervention designed to improve AI literacy and conceptual understanding among Australian secondary students (Years 7-10). Using a mixed-methods approach with pre- and post-intervention surveys (N=205 pre; N=163 post), we analyse changes in students' ability to identify AI in everyday tools, their understanding of AI ethics, training, and safety, and their interest in STEM-related careers. Baseline data revealed notable synthetic media risks: 82.4% of students reported having seen deepfakes, 18.5% reported sharing them, and 7.3% reported creating them. Results show higher self-reported AI knowledge and confidence after the intervention, alongside improved recognition of AI in widely used platforms such as Netflix, Spotify, and TikTok. This pattern suggests a shift from seeing these tools as merely "algorithm-based" to recognising them as AI-driven systems. Students also reported increased interest in STEM careers post-workshop; however, effect sizes were small, indicating that sustained approaches beyond one-off workshops may be needed to influence longer-term aspirations. Overall, the findings support scalable AI literacy programs that pair foundational AI concepts with an explicit emphasis on synthetic media safety.

Figures (3)

• Figure 1: AI tool usage reported by students $N$=197 (191 fully completed).
• Figure 2: Primary motivations for AI tool engagement among students.
• Figure 3: Primary information sources for student AI literacy.