This volume presents selected case studies of smart education practices in China in 2025, documenting both challenges and solutions. The chapters span four categories: regional initiatives building smart education ecosystems; school-level practices showcasing classroom innovation and pedagogy; technology cases demonstrating AI solutions at scale; and research contributing theory, comparative analysis, and policy recommendations. Three distinguishing features characterize this collection: the large-scale integration of generative AI and large language models into teaching and learning; China's nationally coordinated pilot of information technology-supported comprehensive student evaluation across 38 designated regions; and the in-depth application of the National Smart Education Platform as living infrastructure. The volume also highlights project-based learning, AI-supported student wellbeing, science and innovation education, and technology-enabled teacher professional development.
As artificial intelligence reshapes education worldwide, educators are experimenting with new approaches to teaching, learning, and assessment. This volume documents how these innovations are being implemented across China, providing evidence from real-world practice rather than policy alone.
China has responded with remarkable ambition and institutional coherence. Yet policy architecture is only as real as the practices it generates. This volume exists because those practices exist — in extraordinary variety, in unexpected places, and at a depth that policy documents alone cannot convey. Under the guidance of the Department of Science, Technology and Informatization of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, the organizing committee of the Global Smart Education Conference and the Ministry's Education Informatization Strategic Research Bases (Beijing, Central China, Northwest) solicited outstanding smart education cases in 2025, carefully selecting 1,008 cases from across every province of the country. The chapters synthesized from that corpus span four categories: regional development initiatives documenting how provinces and districts have built sustainable smart education ecosystems; school-level practices capturing classroom innovation and new pedagogical models; technology solution cases in which enterprises demonstrate AI platforms and intelligent tools deployed at scale; and research outcomes in which academic institutions contribute new theory, comparative analysis, and policy recommendations.
Rather than presenting smart education as a finished achievement, this volume captures an evolving process of innovation, experimentation, and reflection. It offers China's experience as a contribution to the global conversation on educational transformation, framed by the "3N" vision of a New Stage of smart education, New Standards for talent cultivation, and New Pathways toward high-quality educational development.
Dejian Liu
China National Smart Education Platform Applications Artificial Intelligence and Education in China Generative AI in Education and Teaching Comprehensive Student Quality Assessment with Digital Technology EED Platform for Student Evaluation in China Smart Classroom and Digital Teaching Models Digital Transformation of Regional Education Systems Teacher Digital Literacy and Professional Development in China Family School Community Collaborative Education Smart Education Transformation in China