Wang Yi: The Construction of Ideological and Political Courses Should Seek Vitality Through Reform and Innovation
The Ideological and Political Theory Course (Sizhengke) [1] is the key course for implementing the fundamental task of "fostering virtue through education" (lìdé shùrén) [2]. On March 18, 2019, at the Symposium for Teachers of Ideological and Political Theory Courses, General Secretary Xi Jinping explicitly pointed out that "the construction of the ideological and political course must seek vitality from reform and innovation." This provided scientific guidance and an action manual for why and how to run these courses well in the New Era. Over the past five years, the reform and innovation of ideological and political courses have undergone continuous refinement and focusing through exploration, as well as strengthening and improvement through practice. The concepts of construction have become increasingly clear, the basic structure has undergone profound shifts, the content system has become more complete by the day, and the methods and pathways have become rich and diverse. Standing at a new historical starting point, the construction of ideological and political courses must take reform and innovation as its orientation to further strengthen Party leadership, innovation-driven development, coordinated linkage, and digital empowerment, writing a progressive chapter in "soul-shaping and heart-nurturing" [3] on the new journey.
1. Significant Results in the Reform and Innovation of Ideological and Political Courses
The CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core attaches great importance to the construction of Schools of Marxism, the discipline of Marxist theory, and ideological and political courses. Through a series of policy measures, it has realized the reform and innovation of these courses, achieving remarkable results in construction concepts, basic structures, content systems, and methodological pathways.
The construction concepts for the reform and innovation of ideological and political courses have become increasingly clear. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on the construction of these courses, along with a series of policy documents issued by the Central Committee, have clarified "how to grasp" the reform and innovation of these courses in the New Era. Important formulations—such as "the construction of the ideological and political course must seek vitality from reform and innovation," "we must make good use of the 'Great Ideological and Political Course' (dà sīzhèngkè) [4]," "the essence of the ideological and political course is to explain reasoning," and "advancing the integrated construction of ideological and political education across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels"—have anchored the basic orientation. These discourses profoundly explain the essence of the course and expand the vision and structure of its reform from the height of national governance, providing the fundamental adherence for running these courses well. The issuance of policy documents such as the Opinions on Deepening the Reform and Innovation of School Ideological and Political Theory Courses in the New Era, the Implementation Plan for the Reform and Innovation of School Ideological and Political Theory Courses in the New Era, and the Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of Schools of Marxism in the New Era has perfected the institutional system and completed the top-level design for reform and innovation.
The basic structure of the reform and innovation of ideological and political courses has undergone profound changes. The high-quality development of Schools of Marxism, the continuous advancement of teaching supported by scientific research, and a social environment that jointly supports these courses have collectively driven reform in the New Era. By focusing on building strong positions for Marxist theoretical education, research, publicity, and talent cultivation, and by strengthening Schools of Marxism as priority colleges, Marxist theory as a priority discipline, and ideological and political courses as priority courses, an objective transformation from "quantity to strength" and "strength to excellence" has been realized. This has laid a solid organizational foundation for the "connotative development" [5] of these courses. Meanwhile, the theoretical foundation of reform has been further consolidated through the pull of scientific research projects. The National Social Science Fund established the "Special Project for Research on Ideological and Political Courses in Colleges and Universities," and the Ministry of Education established a similar specialized research project within its "Prosperity Plan for Philosophy and Social Sciences in Higher Education," driving the theoretical deepening of reform through solid academic research. With high level of attention from governments at all levels, cooperation from families, and wide participation from social organizations, a large-scale social structure in which schools, families, and society jointly run these courses has begun to take shape.
The content system of the reform and innovation of ideological and political courses is becoming more complete daily. The construction of a curriculum system with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as its core content, the comprehensive advancement of the "Great Ideological and Political Course," and the integrated construction of these courses across all educational levels have enriched the "what to do" aspect of reform. With the course "Introduction to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" being fully implemented at the undergraduate level and the publication of its corresponding textbook, a curriculum cluster centered on Xi Jinping Thought has been further consolidated, organically integrating the latest achievements of the Party's innovative theories. Furthermore, an increasing amount of social resources and forces have actively "integrated" into the reform. Social practices such as "Great Power Borders" and "One Thousand People, One Hundred Villages" have launched a series of "walking ideological and political courses." Branded activities like "Ideological and Political Courses on the Beijing Central Axis" and "New Thoughts on the Rostrum" have moved the classroom to the front lines of historical sites. The integrated construction across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels has also received widespread attention. In 2020, the Ministry of Education established a steering committee for this integration, and in 2022, it deployed work for an "integrated community," deepening the "joint answering of the same question" [6] through the integration of curricula, textbooks, teaching, and teaching staff.
The methodological pathways for the reform and innovation of ideological and political courses are rich and diverse. Innovations in teaching methods, the application of modern information technology, and the leading role of specialized "Golden Courses" (jīnkè) [7] have broadened the path of "how to do it." Guided by the "Eight Unifications," [8] diverse methods such as case-based, inquiry-based, experiential, interactive, thematic, and segment-based teaching have been flexibly applied. With the development of educational digitalization, construction has expanded from physical classrooms to virtual and hybrid classrooms. High-quality resources continue to emerge; for example, Renmin University of China has firmly grasped its responsibility to provide "Golden Courses" for the whole country, creating integrated teaching resources and "Golden Course" systems for the "Introduction to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" and "Ideology, Morality, and the Rule of Law."
2. Basic Experience in Promoting Reform and Innovation of Ideological and Political Courses
In the five years since the Symposium for Teachers of Ideological and Political Theory Courses, significant achievements and profound changes have occurred, containing basic experiences such as insisting on Party leadership, innovation-driven development, and coordinated linkage.
Persist in Party leadership to gather a broad consensus for improving the quality of ideological and political courses. The key to doing China's affairs well lies in the Party. In promoting reform and innovation, Party leadership must only be strengthened, never weakened. We must persist in placing the construction of these courses in a prominent position, thoroughly implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses, and unswervingly using Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to "shape the soul and nurture the person." We must persist in strictly implementing the primary responsibility of local Party committees for course construction, treating it as a landmark project of Party building and ideological work. Party committees at all levels should implement and perfect special meetings on these courses, taking effective measures in work layout, team building, and support guarantees. We must persist in establishing and improving the mechanism where university Party secretaries and presidents take the lead in grasping these courses. As the persons with primary responsibility, they should take the lead in entering classrooms to listen to and deliver lectures, leading the push for construction, maintaining contact with teachers, and incorporating the status of these courses into the university's Party building assessments, school quality evaluations, and disciplinary construction systems.
Persist in innovation-driven development to stimulate the continuous momentum for improving ideological and political courses. In promoting reform and innovation, we must strengthen through improvement and advance through innovation. We must persist in advancing course construction in sync with the Party’s innovative theoretical arming. Focusing on Marxist theoretical education and research, the Party's latest theoretical achievements should be fully and organically integrated into all courses, with efforts concentrated on political guidance, theoretical explanation, and value shaping. We must persist in strengthening the construction of curriculum and textbook systems. While keeping the core compulsory courses relatively stable, we should build a curriculum system of "compulsory plus elective" courses based on the characteristics of different educational stages. We must follow the pace of practical and theoretical innovation, timely editing and revising textbooks to form a "three-dimensional" textbook system that is political, contemporary, scientific, and readable, incorporating the latest achievements of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. We must persist in innovating teaching methods, using the vivid materials of Chinese-path modernization to organically combine teaching focuses, theoretical difficulties, social hotspots, and student characteristics.
Persist in coordinated linkage to gather the overall force for building the structure of ideological and political courses. We must persist in the integrated promotion of team building, strictly verifying full-time teacher positions at a teacher-student ratio of no less than 1:350, building a multi-level training system, and strengthening the cultivation of reserve talent. We must persist in the horizontal coordination of various forces, utilizing the "Great Ideological and Political Course" to perform overall design with a systems perspective, ensuring education resources are interconnected and experiences are shared, allowing the courses to resonate at the same frequency as reality and the times. We must persist in the vertical integration of all educational stages, rationally designing course objectives and teaching content.
3. Deepening Reform and Innovation at a New Historical Starting Point
Standing at a new historical starting point, we should take the linkage of compulsory and elective courses, the combination of the "small classroom" and the "large social classroom," and the empowerment of modern information technology as focal points to push reform to new heights.
Link compulsory and elective courses to optimize the curriculum system. First, exert every effort to create "hardcore" compulsory courses, making them the main battlefield and core area. Through teaching staff guarantees and content innovation, we should make the teaching and research of the latest achievements of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism the top priority, creating a "Golden Course" system centered on the "Introduction to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era." Second, innovatively launch characteristic elective courses to serve as multi-channel platforms for deepening education. Third, build a system of "compulsory plus elective" courses ensuring the "main channel" [9] and "micro-circulations" [10] of teaching are unobstructed.
Combine the small classroom with the social classroom to expand the construction structure. Realizing this combination is an inherent requirement for extending the spatial vision of the construction structure. On the one hand, take the magnificent practice [of national development] as the classroom, moving the courses into the broad world of society. Encourage students to enter society and the grassroots to understand national conditions and seek truth from real life. On the other hand, bring vivid practice into the classroom, allowing social practice materials to fill the teaching space. Build cooperation mechanisms with "Great Ideological and Political Course" practice bases to develop "Great Practice Courses" that explain the "Path of China, Governance of China, and Logic of China" (Zhōngguó zhī lù, Zhōngguó zhī zhì, Zhōngguó zhī lǐ).
Empower with modern information technology to stimulate innovative drive. First, strengthen digital construction by making good use of resource platforms. Relying on platforms like the Beijing Higher Education Ideological and Political Theory Course Sophisticated Innovation Center, we should use digital technology to reconstruct course structures and resource development. Second, expand digital achievements and connect digital resources. Play the exemplary role of digital projects such as "Famous Teachers and Great Scholars Speak on Party History," and build question banks, case banks, and material banks that serve front-line teaching, creating a "Central Kitchen" for online lesson preparation. Third, innovate digital technology and extend the digital chain. By using XR, VR, and other virtual simulation technologies, we can realize man-machine dialogue and dynamic interaction, achieving a conceptual upgrade from technology application to technology empowerment, and a systematic transformation of teachers from "fighting alone" to "group operations."