Methods and Pathways for Enhancing the Leading Power of Ideological and Political Education

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the National Education Conference, “The education powerhouse we aim to build is a socialist education powerhouse with Chinese characteristics, which should possess a strong leading power in ideological and political education, talent competitiveness, scientific and technological support, livelihood security, social synergy, and international influence, providing robust support for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization.” The leading power of ideological and political education ranks first among the “six major characteristics” of an education powerhouse, highlighting the guiding role of ideological and political education in the construction of an education powerhouse. At present, the world is undergoing changes unseen in a century, the struggle in the ideological domain remains severe and complex, and the thoughts and ideas of young students are becoming more diverse and active. As the main front for talent cultivation, higher education institutions enhancing the leading power of ideological and political education is not only a concrete practice of thoroughly implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourses on education but also a crucial measure for fulfilling the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education [n1]. Facing new situations and new tasks, higher education institutions should persistently exert multi-dimensional efforts and engage in intensive cultivation, continuously enhancing the leading power of ideological and political education, and laying a solid ideological foundation for building an education powerhouse and cultivating new generations capable of shouldering the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

习近平总书记在全国教育大会上指出，“我们要建成的教育强国，是中国特色社会主义教育强国，应当具有强大的思政引领力、人才竞争力、科技支撑力、民生保障力、社会协同力、国际影响力，为以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业提供有力支撑”。思政引领力在教育强国“六大特质”中居于首位，凸显思想政治教育在教育强国建设中的引领性作用。当前，世界百年未有之大变局加速演进，意识形态领域斗争依然严峻复杂，青年学生思想观念更趋多样活跃。高校作为人才培养的主阵地，提升思政引领力既是深入贯彻落实习近平总书记关于教育的重要论述的具体实践，也是落实立德树人根本任务的重要举措。面对新形势新任务，高校应坚持多维发力、深耕细作，不断提升思政引领力，为建设教育强国、培养担当民族复兴大任的时代新人筑牢思想根基。

1. Strengthening Party Leadership, Providing Organizational Guarantees

1.加强党的领导，提供组织保障

Education is a major national and Party undertaking. Upholding and strengthening the Party’s overall leadership over education concerns the nature of education and the success or failure of education; it is the fundamental guarantee for running education well. Party leadership is the “stabilizing force” [n2] for the steady and sustained progress of ideological and political work in higher education institutions, the core for consolidating spirit and building a solid ideological foundation, and the key to enhancing the leading power of ideological and political education in higher education institutions. Party leadership must be integrated throughout the entire process of running schools and governing education, and fostering virtue through education. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “Ideological and political work is the lifeline of all work in schools; Party committees at all levels, education authorities at all levels, and school Party organizations must firmly grasp it.” To enhance the leading power of ideological and political education in higher education institutions, it is necessary to strengthen political leadership, uphold the socialist direction of running schools, fully implement the Party’s educational policy, adhere to the simultaneous development of “five educations” [n3], and continuously improve the educational leadership system under the unified leadership of the Party committee, with joint management by the Party and government, and each department assuming its own responsibilities, ensuring that the Party Central Committee’s decisions and deployments regarding ideological and political work take root in higher education institutions.

教育是国之大计、党之大计。坚持和加强党对教育工作的全面领导，关乎教育的性质，关乎教育的兴衰成败，是办好教育的根本保证。党的领导是高校思政工作行稳致远的“定海神针”，是凝魂聚气、筑牢思想根基的核心，是提升高校思政引领力的关键。必须把党的领导贯穿办学治校、立德树人全过程。习近平总书记指出，“思想政治工作是学校各项工作的生命线，各级党委、各级教育主管部门、学校党组织都必须紧紧抓在手上”。提升高校思政引领力，必须强化政治引领，坚持社会主义办学方向，全面贯彻党的教育方针，坚持“五育”并举，不断完善党委统一领导、党政齐抓共管、部门各负其责的教育领导体制，确保党中央关于思政工作的决策部署在高校落地生根。

Improve institutional mechanisms. Perfect the system of the president assuming responsibility under the leadership of the Party committee, strengthen the political and organizational functions of grassroots Party organizations in higher education institutions, promote the deep integration of Party building work with professional work, implement the project of fostering virtue through education for the New Era, comprehensively construct an ideological and political education system that consolidates foundations and strengthens the soul, promote the comprehensive penetration of school ideological and political education through the disciplinary system, teaching system, textbook system, and management system, and deeply integrate it into all aspects of ideological and moral education, cultural knowledge education, social practice education. Strictly implement the responsibility system for ideological work, consolidate ideological positions, firmly grasp the Party’s leadership, management, and discourse power over ideological work in higher education institutions, ensuring that the nature, stance, direction, and path of ideological and political education work remain unchanged and unswerving.

健全制度机制。完善党委领导下的校长负责制，增强高校基层党组织政治功能和组织功能，推动党建工作与业务工作深度融合，实施新时代立德树人工程，全面构建固本铸魂的思想政治教育体系，推动学校思想政治教育全面贯穿学科体系、教学体系、教材体系和管理体系，深度融入思想道德教育、文化知识教育、社会实践教育各环节。严格落实意识形态工作责任制，筑牢意识形态阵地，牢牢掌握党对高校意识形态工作的领导权、管理权、话语权，确保思想政治教育工作性质不变、立场不移、方向不偏、道路不改。

Construct a collaborative education mechanism. Improve the school-family-society collaborative education mechanism, through all-staff education, whole-process education, and all-round education, guide and promote the cooperation of all parties, gathering a strong合力 [n4] for fostering virtue through education. Establish school-local and school-enterprise cooperation mechanisms, create internship and training bases, carry out industry-university-research cooperation projects, and fully utilize social resources to conduct ideological and political education. Actively pay attention to and participate in local economic and social development, integrate local development achievements and practical experiences into ideological and political education and teaching, improve the home-school communication mechanism, and construct an education community where schools, families, and society share the same goals, pool resources, and bear responsibilities together.

构建协同育人机制。健全学校家庭社会协同育人机制，通过全员育人、全程育人、全方位育人，引导和促进各方通力合作，汇聚起立德树人的强大合力。建立校地、校企合作机制，打造实习实训基地，开展产学研合作项目，充分利用社会资源开展思政教育。积极关注并参与当地经济社会发展，将地方的发展成果和实践经验融入思政教育教学中，完善家校沟通机制，构建学校、家庭、社会目标同向、资源同聚、责任同担的育人共同体。

2. Promoting the Spirit of Educators, Enhancing Subject Capacity

2.弘扬教育家精神，提升主体能力

To strengthen the country, education must be strengthened first; to strengthen education, teachers must be strengthened first. Teachers are the foundation of education and the source of its flourishing. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to “vigorously promote the spirit of educators,” profoundly clarifying that the core essence of the spirit of educators lies in “the ideal and belief of having the greater self in mind and serving the country with utmost sincerity; the moral sentiment of words being models for scholars and deeds being standards for the world; the educational wisdom of enlightening wisdom, moistening hearts, and teaching according to aptitude; the diligent and dedicated attitude of studying diligently, acting resolutely, seeking truth, and innovating; the benevolent heart of loving teaching, cherishing students, and being willing to contribute; and the grand pursuit of embracing the world and transforming people through culture.” The spirit of educators embodies the lofty spiritual character of outstanding teachers, is a precious spiritual wealth of the Chinese nation, and is an important spiritual force for forging souls and strengthening teachers.

强国必先强教，强教必先强师。教师是立教之本、兴教之源。习近平总书记强调要“大力弘扬教育家精神”，深刻阐明教育家精神的核心要义在于“心有大我、至诚报国的理想信念，言为士则、行为世范的道德情操，启智润心、因材施教的育人智慧，勤学笃行、求是创新的躬耕态度，乐教爱生、甘于奉献的仁爱之心，胸怀天下、以文化人的弘道追求”。教育家精神体现了优秀教师的崇高精神品格，是中华民族的宝贵精神财富，是推动铸魂强师的重要精神力量。

Strengthen value guidance, enhance educational sentiment. To promote the spirit of educators, it is necessary to improve the theoretical cultivation of the teaching force, guide the vast majority of teachers to strengthen their loyalty and love for the Party’s educational cause, and persist in teaching and educating people. Strengthen value appeal, guide teachers to consciously and actively strengthen theoretical study, cultivate noble sentiments, enhance their political, ideological, theoretical, and emotional identification with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, inspire students with the power of truth, influence students with the words and deeds of “uprightness as a model,” transmit values with noble personality, be guides for students to firmly believe and love the Party and the country, and lead the vast number of young people to consciously listen to the Party and follow the Party.

加强价值引领，提升育人情怀。弘扬教育家精神，要提高教师队伍的理论修养，引导广大教师坚定对党的教育事业的忠诚与热爱，执着于教书育人。强化价值感召，引导教师自觉主动加强理论学习、涵养高尚情操，增进对习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的政治认同、思想认同、理论认同、情感认同，用真理的力量感召学生，以“身正为范”的言行熏陶学生，用高尚人格传递价值观，做学生坚定信仰、爱党爱国的引路人，引领广大青少年自觉听党话、跟党走。

Improve the evaluation system, enhance educational capacity. Adhere to the correct orientation for teacher evaluation, making teacher ethics and conduct the first criterion for teacher evaluation. Reform the teacher evaluation mechanism, take the actual effect of fostering virtue through education as the core indicator, increase its weight in professional title evaluation and appointment, and awards and commendations, guide teachers to consciously integrate value shaping into knowledge transmission and ability cultivation. Strengthen training for teachers’ ideological and political literacy and educational capacity, deeply explore and publicize the typical deeds of outstanding teachers, create a strong atmosphere of respecting teachers and valuing education, and advocating virtue and goodness, guide the vast majority of teachers to establish themselves with virtue, learn with virtue, and teach with virtue, strive to become “great masters” [n5] who shape students’ character, conduct, and taste, consciously become model practitioners of the core socialist values, and educate and guide students with their own words and deeds, achieving the educational effect of moistening things silently.

健全评价体系，提升育人能力。坚持正确的教师评价导向，把师德师风作为教师评价的第一标准。改革教师评价机制，将立德树人实效作为核心指标，在职称评聘、评优奖励中加大权重，引导教师自觉将价值塑造融入知识传授和能力培养。加强教师思政素养和育人能力培训，深入挖掘和宣传优秀教师典型事迹，营造尊师重教、崇德向善的浓厚氛围，引导广大教师以德立身、以德立学、以德施教，努力成为塑造学生品格、品行、品位的“大先生”，自觉做社会主义核心价值观的模范践行者，用自己的言行举止教育、引导学生，实现润物细无声的育人效果。

3. Skillfully Using the “Grand Ideological and Political Course,” Optimizing Resource Supply

3.善用“大思政课”，优化资源供给

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “The ideological and political course is the key course for fulfilling the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education,” and “The ‘grand ideological and political course’ we must skillfully use, and it must be combined with reality.” These important discourses provide fundamental guidance for higher education institutions to promote the construction of ideological and political courses with high quality. The “grand ideological and political course” represents a renewal of concepts, an expansion of the framework, and an extension of pathways for running ideological and political courses well. Its connotations, such as the grand classroom, grand teaching force, and grand platform, aim to break the temporal and spatial boundaries and resource barriers of traditional ideological and political courses, constructing a grand pattern of all-staff, whole-process, and all-round education. It is an important means to align ideological and political courses with the times and practice, and an effective resource supply for enhancing the leading power of ideological and political education in higher education institutions. Only by integrating the concept of the “grand ideological and political course” into ideological and political work in higher education institutions can various educational resources be fully tapped and utilized, enriching the connotation of the leading power of ideological and political education, and enhancing its practical effectiveness.

习近平总书记强调，“思政课是落实立德树人根本任务的关键课程”，“‘大思政课’我们要善用之，一定要跟现实结合起来”。这些重要论述为高校高质量推进思政课建设提供了根本遵循。“大思政课”是办好思政课的理念再更新、格局再扩大、路径再拓展，其蕴含的大课堂、大师资、大平台等内涵，旨在打破传统思政课的时空边界与资源壁垒，构建起全员全程全方位育人的宏大格局，是实现思政课与时代同向、与实践同行的重要手段，是提升高校思政引领力的有效资源供给。只有将“大思政课”理念融入高校思政工作，才能充分挖掘和利用各种教育资源，丰富思政引领力的内涵，提升思政引领力的实效。

Adhere to running ideological and political courses with an open approach. Break down the barriers between higher education institutions and society, combine the small classroom of ideological and political education with the big classroom of society, and closely link ideological and political courses with reality. Fully utilize social resources, rely on rich social resources such as red education bases, the frontlines of reform and opening up, and the frontlines of rural revitalization, establish a number of off-campus practical teaching bases, organize students to carry out social practice activities, meticulously create “walking ideological and political courses,” guide students to understand national conditions, temper character, and increase talents in the vast world, and enhance their sense of social responsibility and mission. Invite advanced model figures from all walks of life to enter higher education institutions, communicate face-to-face with students, educate students with their personal experiences and touching deeds, and stimulate students’ fighting spirit and innovation awareness. Fully utilize network resources, create an ideological and political education platform combining online and offline, expand the space and channels of ideological and political education, and improve the coverage and influence of ideological and political education.

坚持开门办思政课。打破高校与社会之间的壁垒，将思政小课堂与社会大课堂相结合，让思政课与现实紧密联系起来。充分利用社会资源，依托红色教育基地、改革开放前沿、乡村振兴一线等丰富社会资源，建立一批校外实践教学基地，组织学生开展社会实践活动，精心打造“行走的思政课”，引导学生在广阔天地中认识国情、砥砺品格、增长才干，增强社会责任感和使命感。邀请各行各业的先进模范人物走进高校，与学生面对面交流，用他们的亲身经历和感人事迹教育学生，激发学生的奋斗精神和创新意识。充分利用网络资源，打造线上线下相结合的思政教育平台，拓展思政教育的空间和渠道，提高思政教育的覆盖面和影响力。

Promote the collaborative cultivation of students through ideological and political courses and other courses. Reform and innovate the main-channel teaching, construct an independent knowledge system for the research, interpretation, and education of the Party’s innovative theories, strengthen the construction of a curriculum cluster for ideological and political courses with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as its core content, solidly advance the organic integration of the Party’s innovative theories and practical achievements into each ideological and political course, and deeply advance the integrated construction of ideological and political courses across universities, middle schools, and primary schools. Adhere to using the globally recognized achievements of socialism with Chinese characteristics as content support, take fine traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture as the foundation of strength, innovate modes of discourse expression, get close to the cognitive characteristics and reception habits of young students, skillfully use vivid cases, lively stories, and internet language to explain principles thoroughly, vividly, and in a way that resonates, and promote the connotative development of ideological and political courses. Advance the construction of course-based ideological and political education, deeply excavate the ideological and political elements and educational functions contained in various courses, integrate ideological and political education into the teaching of all types of courses, promote professional courses and ideological and political courses to move in the same direction, form a synergistic effect, and achieve the organic unity of knowledge transmission and value guidance.

推动思政课与其他课程协同育人。改革创新主渠道教学，构建党的创新理论研究阐释和教育教学的自主知识体系，加强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课课程群建设，扎实推进党的创新理论和实践成果有机融入各门思政课，深入推进大中小学思政课一体化建设。坚持以中国特色社会主义取得的举世瞩目成就为内容支撑，以中华优秀传统文化、革命文化和社会主义先进文化为力量根基，创新话语表达方式，贴近青年学生认知特点和接受习惯，善用生动案例、鲜活故事、网络语言把道理讲深讲透讲活，推动思政课内涵式发展。推进课程思政建设，深入挖掘各类课程蕴含的思政元素和育人功能，将思想政治教育融入各类课程教学，推动专业课与思政课同向同行，形成协同效应，实现知识传授与价值引领的有机统一。

4. Strengthen digital empowerment, innovate methods and means

4.强化数字赋能，创新方式手段

The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC proposed advancing the digitalization of education. In September 2024, at the National Education Conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to “constantly strengthen and improve school ideological and political education in the New Era” and “continuously expand the space and positions for practical education and online education.” [6]6 The 20th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2022. The National Education Conference was held in September 2024, where Xi Jinping delivered a speech on educational development. Educational digitalization has not only found an important breakthrough for China to open up new tracks for educational development and shape new advantages for educational development, but has also injected new vitality and provided new practical space for ideological and political work in universities. Actively promoting the development of digital ideological and political education, using digital technology to enhance the precision, interactivity, and coverage of ideological and political work, is an inevitable requirement of the times and an inherent part of enhancing the leading role of ideological and political education in universities.

党的二十大报告提出，推进教育数字化。2024年9月，习近平总书记在全国教育大会上强调要“不断加强和改进新时代学校思想政治教育”，“不断拓展实践育人和网络育人的空间和阵地”。教育数字化不仅为我国开辟教育发展新赛道和塑造教育发展新优势找到了重要突破口，也为高校思想政治工作注入新的活力和提供了新的实践空间。积极推动数字思政发展，利用数字技术提升思政工作的精准性、互动性和覆盖面，是时代发展的必然要求，也是提升高校思政引领力的题中应有之义。

Strengthen the construction of digital resources for ideological and political education, and create a new model of digital education. Make full use of new digital technologies, optimize and integrate high-quality educational resources, and create a batch of high-quality online courses for ideological and political education, virtual simulation experimental teaching projects, digital textbooks, etc., to provide students with rich and diverse learning resources. Adhere to content as king, correctly handle the relationship between technological form and educational content, and between virtual space and real classrooms, construct a new “digital ideological and political education” ecosystem that is intelligent, efficient, open, and shared, and enhance the overall effectiveness of ideological and political education in universities. Build a big data platform for ideological and political education, use big data technology for analysis, provide decision-making basis for ideological and political education teaching, and achieve precise education. Advance the digital innovation of ideological and political education teaching methods, use technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality to create immersive and interactive ideological and political classrooms, and increase students’ learning interest and participation. Improve the mechanism for the co-construction and sharing of digital resources for ideological and political education in universities, by optimizing and integrating various types of high-quality digital educational resources, promote the formation of an open, three-dimensional, interconnected digital resource information system, and create an open and orderly ecosystem for ideological and political education in universities.

加强思政教育数字化资源建设，打造数字化育人新模式。充分利用数字新技术，优化整合优质教育资源，打造一批优质的思政教育在线课程、虚拟仿真实验教学项目、数字教材等，为学生提供丰富多样的学习资源。坚持内容为王，正确处理好技术形式与教育内容、虚拟空间与现实课堂的关系，构建智能高效、开放共享的“数字思政”新生态，提升高校思想政治教育的整体效能。建设思政教育大数据平台，利用大数据技术进行分析，为思政教育教学提供决策依据，实现精准育人。推进思政教育教学方法的数字化创新，运用人工智能、虚拟现实、增强现实等技术，打造沉浸式、互动式的思政课堂，提高学生的学习兴趣和参与度。完善高校思想政治教育数字资源共建共享机制，通过优化整合各类优质数字教育资源，推动形成开放立体、互联互通的数字资源信息体系，营造开放有序的高校思想政治教育生态。

Enhance digital awareness, improve teachers’ digital literacy. Empowering ideological and political education in universities with digitalization places higher demands on the digital awareness and digital capabilities of educators. Educators in university ideological and political education should seize the new opportunities of digital transformation and technological empowerment, actively participate in training, cultivate digital thinking, enhance digital literacy, and strive to improve their ability to use digital technology for ideological and political education. It is worth noting that the goal of digital empowerment is to improve quality and efficiency, not simple substitution; its core lies in the ideological resonance and value identification between teachers and students. Therefore, on the one hand, it is necessary to guide educators to be adept at using technology without being enslaved by it, ensuring that technology truly serves the deepening of ideological leadership; on the other hand, it is necessary to guide students to transform their ways of thinking, be adept at using digital teaching platforms, leverage the advantages of digital resources for autonomous learning and deep learning, meet students’ diverse learning needs, and enhance students’ ability to analyze and solve problems.

增强数字意识，提升教师数字素养。以数字化赋能高校思想政治教育，对教育者的数字意识与数字能力提出了更高要求。高校思想政治教育者应抓住数字化变革和科技赋能的新机遇，主动参与培训，涵养数字思维，增强数字素养，着力提升运用数字技术进行思想政治教育的能力。值得注意的是，数字赋能的目标是提质增效，而非简单替代，其核心在于师生的思想共鸣与价值认同，因此一方面要引导教育者善用技术而不为技术所役，确保技术真正服务于思想引领的深化；另一方面要引导学生转变思维方式，善用数字教学平台，利用数字资源优势进行自主学习、深度学习，满足学生多样化的学习需求，提升学生分析和解决问题的能力。

(Author: Xie Ruijin, Researcher at the Anhui Provincial Research Center for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, Secretary of the Party Committee of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine)

（作者：谢瑞瑾，系安徽省中国特色社会主义理论体系研究中心研究员、安徽中医药大学党委书记）

Online Editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心