Research on Innovative Paths of Ideological Education in Colleges and Universities in the New Era

Abstract

Innovating ideological education in higher education has become a core task in China's "new era, " amid rapid digitalization, value
pluralization, and changing student media ecologies. Building on research on the institutional structures and practices of ideological and political education (IPE) in Chinese universities, this study develops and tests an integrated innovation framework that links (a) digital empowerment, (b) curriculum-wide integration ("curriculum ideological and political education"), and (c) experiential/participatory learning to student
outcomes. We adopt a mixed-methods design: a questionnaire survey (N = 512) across four universities and semi-structured interviews (n =
24) with instructors, counselors, and students. Quantitative results show that perceived relevance, participatory pedagogy, and teacher digital
competence significantly predict student engagement and civic participation intention, net of demographic controls. Qualitative findings reveal
three implementation bottlenecksfragmented platform use, assessment misalignment, and "form-over-substance" activitiesand identify
feasible design principles: scenario-based moral reasoning tasks, data-informed formative feedback, and whole-course value integration. The
study contributes actionable pathways for universities to improve the contemporaneity, attractiveness, and effectiveness of IPE while managing risks of superficial digitalization. The paper concludes with a practical innovation roadmap and evaluation indicators aligned with contemporary civic learning measurement traditions.