Abstract
The quick development of artificial intelligence and digital technology is changing psychology and education, placing new demands on educational psychologists’ professional training. In order to improve media literacy, ethical reasoning, and preparedness for using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in psychological work, this project set out to develop and evaluate an AI-supported, professionally focused media education model. 120 undergraduate pedagogy and psychology majors participated in a controlled pedagogical study that compared an experimental group that finished a 16-week AI-integrated training program with a control group that followed the standard curriculum. Assessments conducted before and after the intervention included performance-based tasks and self-report measures that focused on media competency, critical thinking in environments rich in media and AI, and openness to adopting AI in professional settings. The experimental group outperformed the control group in information processing, manipulation detection, and the use of AI tools in case-based psychological scenarios. They also demonstrated statistically significant advances across all three competences, which were backed by substantial effect sizes. These findings suggest that methodically planned, morally sound AI-mediated training can significantly improve future educational psychologists’ professional readiness for jobs in media-rich situations. In situations where universities aim to match psychological training with quickly developing AI and digital-media ecosystems, the suggested approach provides a transferable framework for curriculum development and ongoing professional education.