Making Good Use of the “Great Ideological and Political Courses” to Strengthen the Leading Force of Ideological and Political Education

The “leading force of ideological and political education” is an important proposition put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping at the National Education Conference in September 2024. The “ideological and political” in “leading force of ideological and political education” is an abbreviation for “ideological and political,” a concise expression of the worldview, outlook on life, and values advocated by a society, political party, or country. In the educational discourse of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the practical activities of “ideological and political” mainly include ideological and political education, ideological and political work, socialist ideology education, and ideological and political courses. Any form of ideological and political education practice is an educational practice that arms the mind with Marxist theory. In the New Era, the leading force of ideological and political education is centrally embodied in the powerful directional leading force, developmental driving force, and talent-cultivating force that Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era exerts on building China into a leading country in education. On the new journey to strengthen the leading force of ideological and political education, one important pathway is “we must make good use of the ‘great ideological and political courses.’” [1]1 修齐治平 (xiu qi zhi ping): An abbreviation of the Confucian concept from *The Great Learning* (《大学》), referring to the sequential stages of self-cultivation (修身), family regulation (齐家), state governance (治国), and world peace (平天下). Specifically, making good use of the “great ideological and political courses” requires promoting “great responsibility,” deeply cultivating a “great content system,” and making good use of “great extended spaces,” so as to enhance directional guidance, gather powerful driving forces, and construct a pattern of education for all, throughout the entire process, and in all aspects.

“思政引领力”是习近平总书记2024年9月在全国教育大会上提出的重要命题。思政引领力之“思政”，是“思想政治”的简称，是一个社会、政党或国家倡导的世界观、人生观、价值观的简约表达。在中国特色社会主义教育话语中，“思政”的实践活动主要有思想政治教育、思想政治工作、社会主义意识形态教育以及思政课等。任何一种思政教育实践，都是用马克思主义理论武装头脑的教育实践。新时代的思政引领力，集中体现为习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想对教育强国建设的强大方向引领力、发展驱动力、人才培育力。新征程上增强思政引领力，一个重要路径就是“‘大思政课’我们要善用之”。具体而言，善用“大思政课”就要弘扬“大的责任担当”、深耕“大的内容体系”、用好“大的延伸空间”，以增强方向指引力、汇聚强大驱动力、构建全员全程全方位育人格局。

1. Promoting “Great Responsibility” to Enhance Directional Guidance

1.弘扬“大的责任担当”，增强方向指引力

The powerful leading force of ideological and political education, as the primary characteristic of the leading country in education we aim to build, provides spiritual strength and support for building a leading country in education through ideological education centered on ideals and beliefs, focused on patriotism, with value concepts as its core, based on moral concept cultivation, and guaranteed by the education of the rule-of-law concept. In the practice of building a leading country in education, the leading force of ideological and political education is first and foremost a leading force that ensures the socialist direction of building a leading country in education.

强大的思政引领力作为我们要建成的教育强国的首要特征，通过以理想信念教育为核心、以爱国主义教育为重点、以价值理念教育为内核、以道德观念培育为基础、以法治观念教育为保障的意识形态教育，为教育强国建设提供精神力量支撑。在教育强国建设实践中，思政引领力首先是一种确保教育强国建设社会主义方向的引领力。

To strengthen the leading force of ideological and political education, it is necessary to promote the “great responsibility” of the “great ideological and political courses.” This is because the “great ideological and political courses” bear the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education [2]2 厚德载物 (hou de zai wu): A phrase from the *I Ching* (《易经》), meaning “one of great virtue can shoulder great responsibilities,” often used to describe a generous and tolerant spirit. and take forging souls and nurturing people as their value orientation. They aim to guide students to wholeheartedly support the leadership of the Party, to be full of confidence in socialism with Chinese characteristics and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and to cultivate new generations of the era that the Party can rely on; they aim to guide students to love the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, to love their fellow compatriots, to love the splendid culture of the motherland, to link personal ideals and family happiness with the future of the country and national rejuvenation, and to cultivate new generations of the era who are patriotic and dedicated; they aim to guide students to become good young people of the New Era who have ideals, dare to take responsibility, can endure hardship, and are willing to strive, and to cultivate new generations of the era who bear the great task of national rejuvenation. In other words, this responsibility is embodied in basing itself on the fundamental question of what kind of people to cultivate, how to cultivate them, and for whom to cultivate them, ensuring that colleges and universities always remain a solid front for cultivating builders and successors of socialism.

增强思政引领力，就要弘扬“大思政课”之“大的责任担当”。这是因为，“大思政课”承担着立德树人的根本任务，以铸魂育人为价值导向，旨在引导学生对党的领导衷心拥护、对中国特色社会主义和中华民族伟大复兴充满信心，培养让党放心的时代新人；旨在引导学生爱祖国的大好河山、爱自己的骨肉同胞、爱祖国的灿烂文化，将个人理想、家庭幸福同国家前途、民族复兴联系起来，培养爱国奉献的时代新人；旨在引导学生成为有理想、敢担当、能吃苦、肯奋斗的新时代好青年，培养担当民族复兴大任的时代新人。换言之，这一责任担当，体现为立足培养什么人、怎样培养人、为谁培养人这个根本问题，确保高校始终成为培养社会主义建设者和接班人的牢固阵地。

To this end, on the one hand, we must uphold the Party’s leadership over the construction of the “great ideological and political courses.” We must comprehensively implement the Party’s educational policy, always keep in mind the function and mission of the “great ideological and political courses,” and form a situation for their construction under the leadership of Party committees with multi-party coordination; we must improve the top-level design for the construction of the “great ideological and political courses,” promptly issue relevant documents to guide and support their construction, and provide policy support and a favorable environment; we must focus on guiding the construction of the “great ideological and political courses” with the Party’s innovative theories, and continuously enhance students’ understanding and identification with the Party’s innovative theories. On the other hand, we must anchor the strategic position of the “great ideological and political courses” in building a leading country in education. Since the beginning of the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has inherited and carried forward the Party

为此，一方面，坚持党对“大思政课”建设的领导。全面贯彻党的教育方针，始终牢记“大思政课”的功能和使命，形成党委领导、多元协同的“大思政课”建设局面；完善“大思政课”建设的顶层设计，及时出台指导和支持“大思政课”建设的相关文件，为其提供政策支持和有利环境；注重以党的创新理论指导“大思政课”建设，不断增强学生对党的创新理论的理解和认同。另一方面，锚定“大思政课”在教育强国建设中的战略方位。新时代以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央继承和弘扬我们党重视思想政治工作的优良传统，把思想政治工作提到“治党治国的重要方式”的战略高度。习近平总书记强调“思想政治工作从根本上说是做人的工作”，围绕加强和改进思政课建设发表一系列重要讲话、作出一系列重要指示批示。精准把握“大思政课”的功能与作用，就要将之作为学校思想政治工作的最高形式予以重视、切实抓出成效，筑牢教育“为党育人、为国育才”的初心使命，始终坚持教育为人民服务、为中国共产党治国理政服务、为巩固和发展中国特色社会主义制度服务、为改革开放和社会主义现代化建设服务的正确方向。

2. Deeply Cultivating the “Grand Content System,” Gathering Strong Driving Force

2.深耕“大的内容体系”，汇聚强大驱动力

The “grandness” of the “grand ideological and political course” also lies in the grandness of its content system. To enhance the leading power of ideological and political education and gather the mighty force supporting the construction of an educational powerhouse, one must skillfully use the “grand content system” of the “grand ideological and political course.” This is because the “grand ideological and political course” adheres to using theory to cast the soul, aiming to thoroughly explain, thoroughly elucidate, and vividly bring to life the scientific system of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. By comprehensively offering the course “Introduction to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” and strengthening the construction of a curriculum system with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as its core content, it constructs an independent knowledge system for the research, interpretation, education, and teaching of the Party’s innovative theories; the “grand ideological and political course” adheres to cultural cultivation, aiming to thoroughly explain, thoroughly elucidate, and vividly bring to life the principles, academic theories, and philosophies contained in fine traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture, deeply excavating the ideological and political elements and educational resources contained within them, realizing the transformation of people through culture and the education of people through culture; the “grand ideological and political course” adheres to consolidating the foundation through history, aiming to thoroughly explain, thoroughly elucidate, and vividly bring to life the broad system connecting the history of the Party, the history of the People’s Republic of China, the history of reform and opening up, the history of socialist development, and the history of the development of the Chinese nation, helping students profoundly understand in the vivid textbook of history that “the fundamental reason why the Communist Party of China was able and why socialism with Chinese characteristics works is that Marxism works, and that Marxism adapted to the Chinese context and the needs of the times works.” This “grand content system,” through the mutual corroboration of historical facts and theoretical knowledge, transforms the scientific system of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era into a teaching system and a belief system, and then into a powerful driving force for advancing the construction and development of an educational powerhouse.

“大思政课”之大，也在于其内容体系大。增强思政引领力，汇集支撑教育强国建设的磅礴力量，就要善用“大思政课”之“大的内容体系”。这是因为，“大思政课”坚持理论铸魂，旨在讲深讲透讲活习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的科学体系，通过全面开设“习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想概论”课程和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课程群建设，构建党的创新理论研究阐释和教育教学的自主知识体系；“大思政课”坚持文化涵育，旨在讲深讲透讲活中华优秀传统文化、革命文化和社会主义先进文化中蕴含的道理、学理和哲理，深度挖掘其中蕴含的思政元素和育人资源，实现以文化人、以文育人；“大思政课”坚持历史固本，旨在讲深讲透讲活党史、新中国史、改革开放史、社会主义发展史、中华民族发展史等相联系的宏阔体系，帮助学生在历史这本生动的教科书中深刻领悟“中国共产党为什么能，中国特色社会主义为什么好，归根到底是马克思主义行，是中国化时代化的马克思主义行”。这一“大的内容体系”，通过历史史实与理论知识的相互印证，将习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的科学体系转化为教学体系和信仰体系，进而转化为推进教育强国建设发展的强大驱动力。

On the new journey, to make good use of this “grand content system,” first, one must use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to cast the soul and educate people. Adhere to the synchronous advancement of the construction of the “grand ideological and political course” and the arming of the Party’s innovative theories, constructing a textbook system, curriculum system, and teaching system with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the core content. This not only normalizes the promotion of the Party’s innovative theories entering textbooks, entering classrooms, and entering students’ minds but also, in the vast realm of social practice, clearly explains the relationship between the Party’s innovative theories and the historic achievements and historic changes that have occurred in the cause of the Party and the state since the New Era, unswervingly exerting the role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in casting the soul and educating people through the combination of theory and practice. Second, one must take fine traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture as the foundation of strength. Excavate the family-country sentiment of cultivating oneself, regulating the family, governing the state, and pacifying the world (修齐治平)[1]1 修齐治平 (xiu qi zhi ping): An abbreviation of the Confucian concept from *The Great Learning* (《大学》), referring to the sequential stages of self-cultivation (修身), family regulation (齐家), state governance (治国), and world peace (平天下). in fine traditional Chinese culture, the spiritual pursuit of embracing all things with virtue (厚德载物)[2]2 厚德载物 (hou de zai wu): A phrase from the *I Ching* (《易经》), meaning “one of great virtue can shoulder great responsibilities,” often used to describe a generous and tolerant spirit., and the way of interaction of being kind and benevolent to neighbors (亲仁善邻)[3]3 亲仁善邻 (qin ren shan lin): A phrase from *The Zuo Commentary* (《左传》), meaning “to be close to the benevolent and be on good terms with neighbors,” an ancient expression of harmonious international relations.; excavate the precious revolutionary ideals, revolutionary spirit, and revolutionary morality in revolutionary culture; excavate the national spirit and the spirit of the times contained in advanced socialist culture, allowing the leading power of ideological and political education to have a more solid cultural root. Third, one must take the history of the Party, the history of the People’s Republic of China, the history of reform and opening up, the history of socialist development, and the history of the development of the Chinese nation as spiritual nourishment. Integrate the CPC’s more than 100-year history of struggle, the PRC’s more than 70-year history of development, the more than 40-year history of reform and opening up practice, and the more than 500-year history of the evolution of world socialism into the curriculum system of the “grand ideological and political course,” connecting the past of suffering and glory, the present of rapid change, and the bright and grand future, educating and guiding students to recognize that the red political power was hard-won, the new China was hard-won, and socialism with Chinese characteristics was hard-won, continuously strengthening the ambition, backbone, and confidence of being Chinese, allowing the leading power of ideological and political education to possess a broader historical depth.

新征程上，用好这一“大的内容体系”，一要以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想铸魂育人。坚持“大思政课”建设与党的创新理论武装同步推进，构建以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为核心内容的教材体系、课程体系、教学体系，既常态化推动党的创新理论进教材、进课堂、进学生头脑，又在社会实践的广阔天地中讲好党的创新理论与新时代以来党和国家事业取得的历史性成就、发生的历史性变革之间的关系，在理论与实践结合中坚定不移发挥习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想铸魂育人作用。二要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。挖掘中华优秀传统文化中修齐治平的家国情怀、厚德载物的精神追求、亲仁善邻的交往之道，挖掘革命文化中宝贵的革命理想、革命精神、革命道德，挖掘社会主义先进文化中蕴含的民族精神和时代精神，让思政引领力拥有更加坚实的文化根脉。三要以党史、新中国史、改革开放史、社会主义发展史、中华民族发展史为精神滋养。将中国共产党100多年的奋斗史、中华人民共和国70多年的发展史、改革开放40多年的实践史和世界社会主义500多年的演进史融入“大思政课”课程体系，把苦难辉煌的过去、日新月异的现在和光明宏大的未来贯通起来，教育引导学生认识红色政权来之不易、新中国来之不易、中国特色社会主义来之不易，不断增强做中国人的志气、骨气、底气，让思政引领力富有更加宏阔的历史纵深。

3. Making Good Use of the “Grand Extended Space,” Constructing a Pattern of All-Staff, Whole-Process, All-Round Education

3.用好“大的延伸空间”，构建全员全程全方位育人格局

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out, “We must persist in taking fostering virtue and nurturing people as the central link, and integrate ideological and political work throughout the entire process of education and teaching, achieving whole-process education and all-round education.” The leading power of ideological and political education, as a kind of “force,” is not a simple force released by a single subject in a single link, but a systematic resultant force formed by multiple subjects, both inside and outside the school, involving all links such as ideological and moral education, cultural knowledge education, and social practice. It is not only embodied in classroom teaching but also, like salt dissolving in water, integrated into all fields of students’ growth and development; it relies not only on the sustained efforts of schools but also on the collaborative cooperation of families, schools, and society.

习近平总书记指出，“要坚持把立德树人作为中心环节，把思想政治工作贯穿教育教学全过程，实现全程育人、全方位育人”。思政引领力作为一种“力”，不是在单一环节中、由单一主体释放的简单力量，而是涉及思想道德教育、文化知识教育、社会实践等各环节，由校内校外等多元主体形成的系统合力。它既体现在课堂教学中，又如盐溶于水般融入学生成长发展的各场域；既依靠学校持续发力，又离不开家校社协同合作。

The “grandness” of the “grand ideological and political course” lies, in one important aspect, in responding to the new requirements posed by the New Era for school ideological and political work through a “grand extended space.” The “grand extended space” means the expansion of practical fronts, combining the “small classroom” of ideological and political education with the “big classroom” of society, guiding students to enrich their knowledge, broaden their horizons, and temper their courage through practice as their classroom; it means the extension of cyberspace, expanding the education front from “offline” to “online,” promoting the organic integration of the traditional advantages of ideological and political work with digital technology; it means the expansion of horizontal and vertical space, aiming to build a horizontally integrated curriculum-based ideological and political education system and a vertically connected integrated system of ideological and political courses across universities, middle schools, and primary schools, running ideological and political leadership through the entire process of students’ learning and growth. Skillfully using this “grand extended space” helps to expand the spatial breadth within which the leading power of ideological and political education functions, extending ideological and political education to multiple fields such as social practice fields and virtual cyberspace, forming an all-domain-covered, multi-dimensional, and three-dimensional education pattern; it helps to extend the temporal length of the cycle within which the leading power of ideological and political education functions, following the laws of students’ cognitive development and the progressive characteristics of ideological and political education, achieving the articulation and spiral ascent of ideal and belief education and value shaping across different school stages; it helps to gather the combined educational forces for the leading power of ideological and political education to function, creating an educational ecology of full participation, whole-process connection, and all-domain synergy, promoting the multiplier effect of the leading power of ideological and political education through systematic coordination.

“大思政课”之大，一个重要方面就是以“大的延伸空间”回应新时代对学校思想政治工作提出的新要求。“大的延伸空间”意味着实践阵地的开拓，通过思政“小课堂”与社会“大课堂”相结合，引导学生以实践为课堂丰富学识、增长见识、锻炼胆识；意味着网络空间的延展，将育人阵地从“线下”拓展到“线上”，推动思政工作传统优势同数字技术有机融合；意味着横纵空间的拓展，旨在打造横向贯通的课程思政体系、纵向衔接的大中小学思政课一体化体系，将思想政治引领贯穿学生学习成长全过程。善用这一“大的延伸空间”，有助于拓展思政引领力发挥作用的空间广度，使思想政治教育向社会实践场域、网络虚拟空间等多场域延伸，形成全域覆盖、多维度、立体化的育人格局；有助于延伸思政引领力发挥作用的周期长度，遵循学生认知发展规律和思想政治教育渐进性特征，实现理想信念教育和价值观塑造的学段衔接和螺旋上升；有助于汇聚思政引领力发挥作用的育人合力，营造全员参与、全程贯通、全域协同的育人生态，推动思政引领力在系统协同中实现效能倍增。

On the new journey, to make good use of the “grand extended space” of the “grand ideological and political course,” first, we must improve the practical teaching of the “grand ideological and political course,” continuously enhancing its practical breadth through the expansion of new fields. The focus should be on building a batch of demonstration bases for practical teaching of ideological and political courses that integrate ideological content, practicality, and exemplarity, emphasizing the combination of education with productive labor and social practice; systematically designing practical teaching projects for “walking ideological and political courses,” organizing young students to go deep into the frontlines of rural revitalization, the frontiers of scientific and technological innovation, and the sites of grassroots governance, helping students establish feelings for the people, responsibility for society, and loyalty to the country through observation and experience; making efforts to enhance the targeted nature of practical teaching, guiding students to come to the “big classroom” of society with questions and return to the “small classroom” of ideological and political courses with reflections, helping students complete the sublimation from perceptual knowledge to rational knowledge and the transformation from simple emotions to theoretical literacy. Second, we must innovate the teaching methods of the “grand ideological and political course,” continuously enhancing its actual effectiveness through the application of new technologies. Efforts should be made to improve the information technology literacy of ideological and political course teachers, using technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data to accurately map students’ ideological profiles, striving to achieve precise drip irrigation in ideological and political education; promoting the application of modern information technology in the teaching of ideological and political courses, exploring the construction of a batch of virtual simulation experience centers for ideological and political courses, using digital technology to promote the innovation of teaching content, methods, and forms in ideological and political courses, reproducing historical scenes of the Party, revolutionary events, and heroic figures through technologies such as VR, enhancing the immersive and engaging nature of ideological and political course teaching; cultivating and building a batch of new media matrices for ideological and political education with strong leading power, turning the internet, this greatest variable, into the greatest increment for the construction of the “grand ideological and political course.” Third, we must promote the collaborative education of the “grand ideological and political course,” continuously strengthening its implementation intensity through the construction of a new pattern. We should improve the work pattern of unified leadership by Party committees, joint management by the Party and government, individual responsibility by relevant departments, and coordinated cooperation by the whole society, establishing cross-departmental and cross-field collaborative education mechanisms; deeply advancing the construction of “curriculum-based ideological and political education,” excavating the ideological and political education elements contained in various courses, achieving the organic unity of value shaping, knowledge transmission, and ability cultivation; focusing on advancing the integrated construction of ideological and political courses across universities, middle schools, and primary schools, making efforts to solve problems such as poor articulation in the integrated construction of ideological and political courses across these stages, building a curriculum system that is interconnected, progressive, and spiraling upward; strengthening the long-term mechanism for collaborative education among families, schools, and society, integrating school-local resources, school-enterprise resources, home-school resources, and museum-school resources, realizing the extension of the leading power of ideological and political education to the grassroots and its expansion across all domains.

在新征程上用好“大思政课”之“大的延伸空间”，一要完善“大思政课”实践教学，以新场域的拓展不断提升“大思政课”的实践广度。重点打造一批集思想性、实践性、示范性于一体的思政课实践教学示范基地，注重教育同生产劳动和社会实践相结合；系统设计“行走的思政课”实践教学项目，组织青年学子深入乡村振兴一线、科技创新前沿、基层治理现场等，帮助学生在观察和体验中树立对人民的情感、对社会的责任、对国家的忠诚；着力提升实践教学的针对性，引导学生揣着问题来到社会“大课堂”、带着思考回到思政“小课堂”，帮助学生完成从感性认识到理性认识的升华、从朴素情感到理论素养的转化。二要创新“大思政课”教学方法，通过新技术的运用不断增强“大思政课”的实际效度。着力提升思政课教师信息化能力素养，运用人工智能、大数据等技术精准描绘学生思想图谱，力求实现思政教育的精准滴灌；推动现代信息技术在思政课教学中的应用，探索建设一批虚拟仿真思政课体验中心，以数字技术促进思政课教学内容革新、方法革新、样态革新，通过VR等技术复现党史场景、革命事件和英雄人物，增强思政课教学的沉浸感和感染力；培育建设一批具有强大引领力的思政类新媒体矩阵，使互联网这个最大变量成为“大思政课”建设的最大增量。三要促推“大思政课”协同育人，以新格局的建构不断强化“大思政课”的实施力度。健全党委统一领导、党政齐抓共管、有关部门各负其责、全社会协同配合的工作格局，建立跨部门、跨领域的协同育人机制；深入推进“课程思政”建设，挖掘各门课程蕴含的思想政治教育元素，实现价值塑造与知识传授、能力培养的有机统一；重点推进大中小学思政课一体化建设，着力解决大中小学思政课一体化建设中存在的衔接不畅等问题，构建相互贯通、循序渐进、螺旋上升的课程体系；建强家校社协同育人长效机制，整合校地资源、校企资源、家校资源、馆校资源，实现思政引领力向基层延伸、向全域拓展。

(Author: Wu Qiantao, Researcher at the Research Institute of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Tsinghua University, and one of the first Distinguished Senior Professors of Liberal Arts at Tsinghua University)

（作者：吴潜涛，系清华大学习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究院研究员、清华大学首批文科资深教授）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧