Suozhu Cui

The relevance of the article is determined by the need to clarify how Mao Zedong’s historical experience of ideological and political work can be used in contemporary higher education without mechanically transferring the forms of the revolutionary period to new educational conditions. The aim of the study is to identify the inner logic of Mao Zedong’s principles and methods of ideological and political work and to reveal their methodological significance for improving educational work with university students. The principal approaches include historical-genetic analysis, problem-analytical interpretation, comparative analysis of classical texts and contemporary studies of higher education, as well as the dialectical method of analyzing contradictions between theory and practice, education and management, students’ individual needs and the social tasks of the university. The article shows that seeking truth from facts requires educational work to begin with the study of real conditions and the student environment; collective leadership and coordinated participation ensure the systemic character of education; democracy, respect and persuasion make conscious acceptance of values possible; the combination of education and management institutionalizes value norms; and the unity of theory and practice turns worldview ideas into personal experience of students. The main results consist in systematizing investigation and research methods, contradiction analysis, persuasion and education, practical training, criticism and self-criticism as an integral methodological toolkit for present-day ideological and political education. The theoretical significance lies in clarifying the relationship between Marxist methodology, the Chinese experience of political education and contemporary higher education pedagogy. The practical significance lies in the possibility of using the conclusions in educational programs, student mentoring, Marxist theory courses and feedback mechanisms.