Give Full Play to the Key Role of the “Situation and Policy” Course

Ideological and political courses are key courses for carrying out the fundamental task of fostering virtue and nurturing talent, and they hold political, strategic, and foundational significance in the Party’s leadership of higher education work. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “Uphold fundamental principles and break new ground to promote the connotative development of ideological and political course construction, and continuously enhance the pertinence and appeal of ideological and political courses.” [1]1 Xi Jinping’s instruction on ideological and political course construction, emphasizing both adherence to principles and innovation. As the most timely, rich, vivid, and targeted course among ideological and political courses in higher education, the “Situation and Policy” course is a special and important ideological and political course that closely aligns with the mission of educating people in the New Era and the new journey, and that promptly and effectively answers key questions such as “what the Party and the state hope young students will know, what economic and social development requires young students to understand, and what young students themselves are concerned about.” The “Situation and Policy” course is currently one of the compulsory ideological and political courses at the undergraduate level in higher education, with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as its core content, and it plays an irreplaceable key role in promoting the connotative development of ideological and political course construction in higher education.

思政课是落实立德树人根本任务的关键课程，在党领导高等教育工作中具有政治性、战略性、基础性意义。习近平总书记强调，“守正创新推动思政课建设内涵式发展，不断提高思政课的针对性和吸引力”。“形势与政策”课作为高校思政课建设中最具时效性、丰富性、鲜活性和针对性的课程，是紧扣新时代新征程育人使命，第一时间有效回答“党和国家希望青年学生知道什么、经济社会发展需要青年学生了解什么、青年学生自身关注什么”等重要问题的一门特殊而重要的思政课。“形势与政策”课是目前高校本科阶段以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为核心内容的思政必修课之一，在推动高校思政课建设内涵式发展中具有不可替代的关键作用。

The timeliness of the “Situation and Policy” course can effectively enhance the contemporary relevance and practical guiding role of ideological and political courses in higher education. To promote the connotative development of ideological and political course construction in higher education, it is necessary to take Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the core content, and to use the world-renowned achievements of Chinese-path modernization as the supporting carrier, guiding college students to accurately understand the Party’s basic theory, basic line, and basic policy, helping them correctly understand the domestic and international situation in the New Era, and deeply comprehend the historic achievements, historic changes, and historic opportunities and challenges in the cause of the Party and the state since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, [2]2 The 18th National Congress of the CPC, held in 2012, marked the beginning of the New Era under Xi Jinping’s leadership. thereby cultivating in them a profound sense of family and country, a strong sense of social responsibility, and a broad international perspective, and guiding them to consciously grow into new generations of the era capable of shouldering the heavy task of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. At present and for some time to come, the strategic overall situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the changes unseen in a century in the world are intertwined, making it especially necessary for the “Situation and Policy” course to combine the “small classroom” of ideological and political education with the “big classroom” of society, to pertinently adjust and optimize teaching content, innovate and improve teaching methods, enrich ideological and political teaching materials with real-life situations, interpret scientific theories with social contexts, and demonstrate the effectiveness of education through life practice, guiding young students to keep in mind the “greatest concerns of the state,” [3]3 A phrase used by Xi Jinping to refer to the most fundamental interests and overall concerns of the Party and the state. and, within the inherent context of ideological and political course teaching and learning, to delve deep into students’ hearts and into the overall situation of the Party and the state’s cause, to explain the principles of ideological and political courses deeply, thoroughly, and vividly, helping college students correctly understand the world’s general trend, the national situation, and the overall picture of society, recognize the era’s positioning, opportunities, and challenges of China’s current development, and guide them to firmly stand on the national position and grasp the general trend of development. This particularly requires the “Situation and Policy” course, with its unique broad real-world scenes and social life materials, starting from grasping the ideological characteristics and cognitive habits of young students, to integrate clear, thorough, and vivid principles into a unique discourse system and communication context, continuously stimulate students’ initiative and enthusiasm for receiving ideological and political education, and guide young students to understand principles through history, explain principles through events, and reason through facts, thereby more clearly establishing the way of learning, clarifying the principles of standing in society, and recognizing the truth of the doctrine.

“形势与政策”课的时效性，能够切实增强高校思政课的时代性和现实引领作用。推动高校思政课建设内涵式发展，必须以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为核心内容，以中国式现代化建设取得的举世瞩目成就为载体支撑，引导大学生准确理解党的基本理论、基本路线、基本方略，帮助大学生正确认识新时代国内外形势，深刻领会党的十八大以来党和国家事业取得的历史性成就、发生的历史性变革，面临的历史性机遇和挑战，从而培养他们深厚的家国情怀、强烈的社会责任感和宽广的国际视野，引导他们自觉成长为堪当民族复兴重任的时代新人。当前和今后一个时期，中华民族伟大复兴战略全局和世界百年未有之大变局相互交织，尤其需要“形势与政策”课将思政教育“小课堂”与社会“大课堂”结合起来，有针对性地调整和优化教学内容、创新和完善教学方式，以现实情境丰富思政教材，以社会语境诠释科学理论，以生活实践彰显育人成效，引导青年学生胸怀“国之大者”，在思政课教与学的固有情境之中，深入学生内心深处、深入党和国家事业全局，将思政课的道理讲深讲透讲活，帮助大学生正确认识世界大势、国家时局、社会全貌，认清当前中国发展的时代定位、机遇挑战，引导他们站稳国家立场、把握发展大势。这就格外需要“形势与政策”课以其特有的广阔现实场景和社会生活素材，从把握青年学生认知的思想特点和认知习惯出发，将清楚、透彻、鲜活的道理融入独特的话语体系和传播语境，持续激发学生接受思想政治教育的积极性和主动性，引导青年学生学史明理、以事释理、以实说理，更加清醒地树为学之道、明立身之理、识主义之真。

The pertinence of the “Situation and Policy” course can effectively enhance the explanatory and practical problem-solving role of ideological and political courses in higher education. The Ministry of Education’s “Several Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of the ‘Situation and Policy’ Course in Higher Education in the New Era” [4]4 A policy document issued by the Ministry of Education to guide the reform of the “Situation and Policy” course. clearly states that teaching content should be set pertinently according to the requirements of the developing situation and the characteristics of students, and that hot issues of concern to students should be promptly addressed. The attribute of strong timeliness of the “Situation and Policy” course determines that it is both a “frontline position” in the ideological struggle, with a distinct ideological attribute, and a direct window for ideological leadership and education on major Party and state policies, with a special “targeting” nature in curriculum design. The course objective of the “Situation and Policy” course is to focus on current social hot and difficult issues, and major domestic and international events, through the interpretation and analysis of policies, enabling students to understand their background, goals, significance, and potential impacts, to comprehend the scientific system, essential essence, and practical requirements of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, to cultivate and practice the core socialist values, to consolidate the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field, to strengthen the Four Confidences and political identity, [5]5 The Four Confidences: confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. to cultivate political acumen and discernment, so that students can, in a complex and changing information environment, distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, resist the influence of erroneous trends of thought and unhealthy values, adhere to political principles and moral bottom lines, consciously safeguard the state’s ideological security, and consciously identify with the major policies and guidelines of the Party and the state. For example, in the face of discourse traps such as the “China collapse theory” and the “China overcapacity theory” commonly used by certain Western countries, the “Situation and Policy” course should guide students to correctly understand China’s social reality, and improve their ability to use the knowledge they have learned to cope with the impact of certain theoretical trends and the challenges of practical problems. Currently, local education authorities and higher education institutions are implementing a series of important instructions from General Secretary Xi Jinping on the construction of ideological and political courses, in accordance with the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee on strengthening and improving the construction of ideological and political courses, taking the central spirit as the teaching outline, real hot issues as teaching materials, dispelling doubts as teaching methods, and building ideological consensus as the teaching goal, adopting multiple measures simultaneously, focusing on young students’ evaluations such as “content is substantial, with a strong sense of reality,” “has relevance to oneself,” and “enhances one’s sense of responsibility and mission,” and giving full play to its important role in guiding young students to grasp the “cause” of the latest “events” and the “trend” of their future development, to experience and comprehend the vivid practice and great achievements of the New Era and the new journey, to enhance students’ understanding and grasp of practical issues, and to forge the “Situation and Policy” course into a “golden course” of ideological and political education that is highly welcomed by young student groups. The “Situation and Policy” course plays an indispensable and important role in helping young students understand the major decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee regarding the cause of the Party and the state, form a keen insight and profound understanding of the situation and policies, correctly understand the general trend of China’s and the world’s development from a grand historical perspective, correctly understand the era’s responsibilities and historical missions, and closely link the realization of personal value with the future and destiny of the Party and the state.

“形势与政策”课的针对性，能够切实增强高校思政课的释疑性和现实解惑作用。教育部《关于加强新时代高校“形势与政策”课建设的若干意见》明确提出，要根据形势发展要求和学生特点有针对性地设置教学内容，及时回应学生关注的热点问题。“形势与政策”课时效性强的属性，决定了其既处在意识形态斗争的“前沿阵地”，具有鲜明的意识形态属性，又是意识形态引领党和国家重大政策教育的直接窗口，具有特殊的课程设置“靶向性”。“形势与政策”课的课程目标，就是聚焦当前社会热点和难点问题、国际国内重大事件，通过对政策的解读和分析，使学生理解其背景、目标、意义以及可能产生的影响，领悟习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的科学体系、精髓要义、实践要求，培育和践行社会主义核心价值观、巩固马克思主义在意识形态领域的指导地位、增强“四个自信”和政治认同、培养政治敏锐性和鉴别力，使学生能够在复杂多变的信息环境中，辨别是非善恶，抵制错误思潮和不良价值观的影响，坚守政治原则和道德底线，自觉维护国家的意识形态安全，自觉认同党和国家的大政方针政策。比如，面对“中国崩溃论”“中国产能过剩论”等某些西方国家惯用的议题话语陷阱，“形势与政策”课要引导学生正确认识中国的社会现实，提高学生运用所学知识应对某些理论思潮冲击和现实问题挑战的能力。当前，各地各高校贯彻落实习近平总书记关于思政课建设的一系列重要指示，依据党中央关于加强和改进思政课建设决策部署，以中央精神为教学大纲、以现实热点为教学题材、以解疑释惑为教学手段、以凝聚思想共识为教学目标，多措并举，在青年学生评价“内容实，现实感强”“有与自己有相关的地方”“增强了自己的责任感、使命感”等方面有针对性地聚焦发力，充分发挥其在引导青年学生通过最新发生之“事”，把握其发生之“因”和未来发展之“势”的重要作用，体验和感悟新时代新征程的生动实践和伟大成就，增强学生对现实问题的认识和把握，将“形势与政策”课打造成受青年学生群体欢迎程度较高的思政“金课”。“形势与政策”课在帮助青年学生理解党中央关于党和国家事业发展的重大决策部署，形成对形势与政策的敏锐洞察力和深刻理解力，以大历史观正确认识中国和世界发展大势，正确认识时代责任和历史使命，将实现个人价值同党和国家前途命运紧紧联系在一起等方面发挥着不可或缺的重要作用。

The comprehensive nature of the “Current Situation and Policy” course can effectively strengthen the educational and practical guiding role of ideological and political courses in higher education. The breadth and richness of the content of the “Current Situation and Policy” course determine its comprehensive characteristics of multi-dimensional and multi-perspective integration, such as interdisciplinary convergence, which can fully reflect the integration and mutual penetration among various ideological and political courses and give full play to its educational and guiding role. For example, in promoting the study and implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to continuously expand in depth and breadth, while discussing the international situation and major-country diplomacy, it can organically combine building a community with a shared future for mankind and promoting the common values of all humanity; when discussing the achievements of building a culturally strong country, it can fully link the practical power of Xi Jinping’s cultural thought. This kind of integration, in promoting the connotative development of ideological and political course construction in higher education, does not mean simple content overlap and duplication, but rather forms complementarity with different emphases, jointly constituting an organic whole of the ideological and political course system. Over the years, *Current Affairs Report (College Edition)* has continuously produced high-quality textbooks and their supporting products and services, helping various universities achieve a supply-demand balance in teaching resources for the “Current Situation and Policy” course. In the connotative development of ideological and political course construction in higher education, on the one hand, by strengthening the effective connection between the “Current Situation and Policy” course and other courses, we can fully leverage the synergistic effect of the “teaching points + specialized textbooks + lecture notes and courseware + collective lesson preparation + practical research + research and interpretation + N” model of the “Current Situation and Policy” course, carrying out multi-element reform and innovation from the perspective of aggregation, cultivating students’ independent thinking and critical thinking abilities, and creating a synergy of educational resources; on the other hand, we can strive to construct diversified “on-site” practical education pathways for the “Current Situation and Policy” course, by creating social practice research activities widely participated in by young students, such as “ideological and political courses in venues” and “walking ideological and political courses,” exploring how to improve course quality, optimize content supply, improve working methods, and innovate work carriers, so as to comprehensively enhance the teaching quality of the “Current Situation and Policy” course.

“形势与政策”课的综合性，能够切实增强高校思政课的教育性和现实引导作用。“形势与政策”课内容的广泛与丰富，决定了其具有学科交叉融合等多维度、多视角的综合性特点，能够充分体现思政课各门课程之间的融会贯通，可以充分发挥其教育引导作用。比如，在推动学习贯彻习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想不断向深度和广度拓展方面，在讲国际形势、大国外交的同时，可以有机结合构建人类命运共同体、弘扬全人类共同价值等；讲文化强国建设的成就，可以充分关联习近平文化思想的实践伟力等。这种融会贯通，对于推动高校思政课建设内涵式发展而言，并不意味着简单的内容交叉重叠，而是形成互补、各有侧重，共同构成思政课课程体系的有机整体。多年来，《时事报告（大学生版）》持续推出优质教材及其配套产品和服务，助力各高校实现“形势与政策”课教学资源的供需平衡。在高校思政课建设内涵式发展中，一方面，可以通过加强“形势与政策”课与其他课程间的有效衔接，充分发挥“形势与政策”课“教学要点+专门教材+讲义课件+集体备课+实践研修+研究阐释+N”的合力作用，从聚合性上进行多要素改革创新，培养学生的独立思考和批判性思维能力，打造教育资源合力；另一方面，可以着力构建“形势与政策”课多元化的“在场性”实践育人路径，通过打造“场馆里的思政课”“行走的思政课”等青年学生广泛参与的社会实践调研活动，探索如何提高课程质量，优化内容供给，改进工作方法，创新工作载体，以全面提升“形势与政策”课的教学质量。

(Author: Hong Bo, Deputy Director of *Current Affairs Report* Magazine)

（作者：洪波，系《时事报告》杂志社副社长）

Online Editor: Tong Xin

网络编辑：同心