Mechanism Construction and Pathway Optimization for Integrating Volunteering into College Ideological and Political Education from the Perspective of Practice-Based Education

Abstract

Practice-based education represents a strategic initiative in higher education for fulfilling the fundamental mission of “cultivating virtue through education” (lide shuren) in the new era. Voluntary service serves as a critical vehicle bridging ideological and political theory with social practice, inherently possessing value-shaping and normative functions. However, the integration of voluntary service into ideological and political education in Chinese universities currently faces significant challenges, including the absence of coordinated mechanisms, fragmented implementation, and insufficient pedagogical depth. Grounded in practice-based education theory, this study systematically analyzes the intrinsic logic underlying the synergy between voluntary service and ideological and political education. Drawing on empirical data from questionnaire surveys and case studies, it identifies key practical obstacles and proposes an integrated institutional framework across four dimensions: organizational coordination, competency-oriented training, multidimensional evaluation and incentive mechanisms, and resource integration—further institutionalizing these components through policy design. Building on this mechanism, the paper advances four optimized implementation pathways: curricular embedding, project-based operation, digital enablement, and societal collaboration, all validated through representative domestic and international cases. The study aims to catalyze a paradigm shift—from episodic, activity-driven participation toward systematic, educative cultivation—and thereby provide both theoretical grounding and actionable strategies for constructing a high-quality ideological and political education system.