Exploring and Implementing Ideological and Political Education within the Educational Psychology Curriculum for Pre-service Teachers: An Empirical Reflection on Teaching Reform

In the context of China’s teacher education reform and the implementation of the Guidelines for Curriculum-based Ideological and Political Education in Higher Education, this study focuses on the Educational Psychology curriculum as a core component in the preparation of pre-service teachers. The research constructs an integrated implementation framework of objectives–content–methods–evaluation–improvement for embedding ideological and political education within the Educational Psychology curriculum, aiming to explore how knowledge transmission, competence cultivation, and value shaping can be organically combined. Based on two rounds of teaching reform and continuous improvement, the study employed multiple methods, including questionnaire surveys, classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, and content analysis of student assignments. Quantitative results from the self-developed Ideological and Political Education Effectiveness Questionnaire and the Pre-service Teacher Professional Identity Scale (PISNS) demonstrated that students in the reformed classes showed significant improvements in course engagement, professional identity, educational ideals, and sense of social responsibility. Qualitative data from classroom observations and reflective journals further confirmed that ideological and political education was effectively integrated into chapters such as learning motivation, moral development, and teacher psychology, promoting the internalization of professional values. The findings indicate that embedding ideological and political education within the Educational Psychology curriculum can effectively enhance pre-service teachers’ academic competence and professional commitment, providing a replicable model and practical evidence for the systematic implementation of ideological and political education in teacher education.