Exploring the Thematic Significance of Ideological and Political Education in High School English Curriculum Based on Discourse Reading

Qian Luo

doi:10.70088/k48ymj43

Authors

Qian Luo Xihua Normal University, Nanchong, China Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70088/k48ymj43

Keywords:

discourse reading, high school english, ideological education, thematic meaning, curriculum integration

Abstract

Integrating ideological and political education into the curriculum represents a core requirement for moral development in high school English teaching, as well as a key pathway to fulfilling the fundamental mission of cultivating virtue through education. Currently, in high school English instruction, teachers often focus excessively on linguistic forms while neglecting the exploration of thematic meanings during text analysis, resulting in a superficial integration of ideological education and making it difficult to achieve unity between language teaching and educational values. Drawing on relevant requirements from national educational policy documents, including the Outline for Building an Educational Power (2024--2035) and the Curriculum Standards for Senior High School English (2017 Edition, Revised 2025), this paper proposes a three-dimensional reading strategy centered on exploring the thematic significance of texts. The strategy encompasses three progressive stages: analyzing texts to uncover meaning, grounding meaning to extract values, and aligning with values to integrate ideological education. Through detailed case studies, this paper examines the interrelationships among texts, their underlying meanings, and ideological values, thereby promoting deep integration between ideological education and text analysis in high school English teaching. The findings suggest that discourse reading, when systematically applied, enables teachers to move beyond surface-level language instruction and foster students' comprehensive development by embedding moral and civic education within authentic textual contexts. This approach not only enhances students' language proficiency but also cultivates their critical thinking abilities and sense of social responsibility, ultimately contributing to the holistic educational goals of the high school English curriculum.

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