ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Educational Psychology
University Library Reading Promotion and College Students' Cultural Development: A Meta-Analysis of Psychological Mechanisms and Moderating Effects
Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
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Abstract
This meta-analysis examines the effectiveness of university library reading promotion activities on college students' cultural development and identifies the underlying psychological mechanisms and moderating factors. Synthesizing 15 studies with 22,321 participants, the analysis revealed a medium-to-large effect size (d = 0.52, 95% CI [0.41, 0.63]) with significant heterogeneity (I² = 79.7%), indicating positive impacts on cultural knowledge, cultural identity, cultural literacy, and intercultural competence. Two-stage structural equation modeling identified five psychological mediators—reading motivation, cognitive engagement, emotional experience, self-efficacy, and cultural identity—explaining 68.4% of the total effect, with reading motivation as the predominant pathway (34.6%). Mixed-effects subgroup analyses demonstrated that blended delivery formats outperformed single-mode interventions, longer program durations yielded stronger effects, and East Asian samples exhibited larger effect sizes than Western samples. These findings provide an evidence-based framework for optimizing library-led cultural education programs in higher education settings worldwide.
Summary
Keywords
Cultural development, higher education, Meta-analysis, Psychological mechanisms, Reading promotion, University libraries
Received
23 October 2025
Accepted
23 January 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Jia Zhao
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