Introduction: The phenomenon of “educational silos”–the structural fragmentation between professional training and values education–remains a persistent challenge in global higher education. While China’s Curriculum Ideological–Political Education (CIPE) policy offers a systemic response to this issue, existing research often lacks a robust theoretical framework to explain the mechanisms of integration. Methods: This study addresses this gap by developing a dialectical integration framework through a mixed-methods design, combining a cross-linguistic bibliometric analysis of 851 publications (2014–2024) with multi-site case studies across 12 universities. Results: The analyses identify three distinct integration modalities—complementary, dialogical, and transformative—which function as context–dependent strategies rather than hierarchical stages. Furthermore, a meta-analytical synthesis indicates a moderate positive association between these initiatives and knowledge consolidation, although effects diminish in behavioral domains. Discussion: Overcoming educational silos appears to require dialectical negotiation of disciplinary boundaries and explicit alignment between professional competencies and value-oriented goals. The proposed framework offers a transferable typology to support curriculum design, institutional implementation, and evaluation of integration quality. © © 2026 Wei and Yang.
Author Keywords
Index Keywords
