In 1995, Japanese scholars Jiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi put forward the knowledge management “SECI model” in the book “The Knowledge-Creating Company”, which believes that knowledge consists of two types, i.e., tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge, and that in a specific field. In the specific field, there are four stages of knowledge transformation: socialization of knowledge, externalization of knowledge, combination of knowledge and internalization of knowledge (Fan et al., 2020) . Bringing the context of college teachers’ political theory learning into the SECI model, we can get ( Figure 1 ).

Subliminal transformation and construction of knowledge: The subliminal transformation and construction of knowledge is particularly critical in the process of learning political theory. This refers to the exchange and integration of individuals’ behavioral experiences or knowledge understandings based on their own perceptions through organizations, group interactions and collaborations. In the political theory learning environment of college teachers, this process is reflected in the in-depth communication, wide dissemination and effective transformation of political theory knowledge among teachers. When teachers who are not yet firmly grounded join the community of practice in its early stages, they maintain their individual and unique learning perspectives and perceptions, which may constitute a new revelation for other teachers. As teachers continue to communicate and bond with each other, they gradually construct a unique organizational cognitive framework for the community of practice, which marks the initial formation of the community of practice.

External Explicitization of Knowledge: Through the integration of knowledge, teachers continue to absorb and transform it into a solid foundation for their own political theory learning, a process that is accompanied by the effective transformation of tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. The supportive role of the community not only promotes the political theory learning of other teachers, but also embodies the process of external explicit knowledge. In the specific context of college teachers’ political theory learning, this external explicit process contains two core meanings: on the one hand, it promotes the exchange and transmission of individual tacit knowledge; on the other hand, it ensures that the community can rely on the stable knowledge structure to widely disseminate the learning results to all teachers, so as to comprehensively improve the effectiveness of the political theory learning of the whole teacher group.

Aggregate combination of knowledge: in a university setting, where the knowledge systems of faculty members collectively form a community of practice, individual knowledge is gradually transformed into explicit knowledge that is shared by the community. This transformation process deepens community members’ understanding and mastery of political theory. In the learning environment of a community of college teachers, members learn new knowledge or revisit old knowledge by osmosis, and integrate and organize their individual knowledge systems through the process of externalizing knowledge. This process allows teachers to enhance their cognition through contextualized learning, social practice and holistic participation until their cognitive structures converge on the boundaries of the collective wisdom of the community. There are teachers, and thus the overall effectiveness of political theory learning for the entire teacher community.

Intrinsic sublimation of knowledge: In the community of college teachers, the intrinsic value of knowledge is sublimated, and the influence gradually radiates outward. In the context of the political theory learning community of college teachers, the mature community, through its perfect knowledge system, not only influences the members within the community, but also exerts a far-reaching influence on the non-members of the community—that is, the student group. This influence prompts the student body to actively join the community, further expanding its boundaries. At the same time, students also gain a more implicit and in-depth understanding of existing explicit political theory knowledge in the process, thus jointly promoting the expansion and deepening of the community’s knowledge boundaries.

However, the above is mostly based on teachers’ own learning and construction of political theoretical knowledge, and generally lacks the analysis of external organizational management, process supervision, and effectiveness evaluation, so the two-factor theory is introduced to further construct the analytical framework.

Two Factor Theory, also known as Motivator-Hygiene Theory, was first proposed by the American psychologist Herzberg. Herzberg found through the survey: what makes the workers satisfied is the work itself or the content of the work, which is called “motivating factors”; what makes the workers dissatisfied is the work environment or the work relationship, which is called “health factors”. Factors that bring positive attitudes, satisfaction and motivation are called motivational factors (Yang, 2010) . Health factors include organizational policies, management practices, supervision, interpersonal relationships, physical working conditions, wages and benefits. Motivational factors include achievement, appreciation, challenging work, increased job responsibilities, and opportunities for growth and development (Ling, 2013) ( Figure 2 ).

This study interpreted the political theory learning of university teachers through field research, analyzing policy documents, questionnaires and interviews to excavate motivational and health care factors, i.e., the external dimensions of political theory learning of university teachers (Ji & Wang, 2023) . The research took eight world-class construction universities in Beijing as the main target, and tapped into the motivational and health care factors of teachers’ political theory learning in universities by analyzing the policy documents of teachers’ political theory learning on campus and structured interviews in each university. In the mechanism of university teachers’ political theory learning, the motivating factors mainly include the sense of achievement of learning results enhancement, being given more critical job opportunities, and the promotion of political theory to scientific research; while the health care factors lie in the meeting and learning system, the theory learning assessment system, and the feedback mechanism of learning results.

From the individual point of view, the process of knowledge construction is the process of the sublimation of knowledge, the external explicit of knowledge, the aggregation and combination of knowledge and the internal sublimation of knowledge, in which college teachers need to combine self-study and collective learning, learning and imparting knowledge to build and expand the field of political theory learning in colleges and universities. However, in the actual learning process, this process of SECI is not well accomplished. First of all, college teachers are not easy to accept the content and form of political theory learning, which is considered boring and abstract, increasing the difficulty of internalizing political theory into their own knowledge; and the weakening of each individual teacher’s personal default knowledge will make the transformation of the community’s default knowledge and explicit knowledge even more difficult; in the long run, the political theory is not able to be internalized into the internal knowledge of the college teachers, and also not able to spread the development of the college community through colleges and universities. Community dissemination and development, so that the theory taught to students is bound to be empty, from their own learning to teaching, the effectiveness of political theory learning can not talk about efficient. This shows that the process of monitoring the political theory learning of college teachers needs to be strengthened. Focus on the form during the study ignores the quality, so that the theoretical learning and practice further disconnect, can not cause the enthusiasm of teachers to learn, this problem needs to be solved urgently.

From the organizational level, the use of both motivational and health factors for teachers’ political theory learning needs to be strengthened in colleges and universities. Teachers focus on the sense of achievement brought about by learning results and hope that political theory learning can bring new research propositions for their scientific research and teaching, but these incentives have not been brought into play due to the irrationality of the existing learning contents and forms, while in terms of health care factors, the current situation of political theory learning in colleges and universities generally reflects the mechanization of assessment and management, which has further curbed the enthusiasm of teachers to learn political theory. Failure to make good use of the dual factors to manage the organization’s knowledge learning is also an important reason for the weak effectiveness of the current political theory learning mechanism for college teachers.

Deepen the demand research to ensure that the learning content is accurately matched. Before the political theory learning, including through questionnaires, symposiums, one-on-one interviews and other forms, a comprehensive understanding of the ideological dynamics of young teachers, learning needs and concerns, by accurately grasping the learning needs to ensure that the learning content is more attuned to the actual situation, and more targeted and effective.

Innovative incentive mechanism to stimulate learning motivation. For example, you can combine political theory learning with title evaluation, performance appraisal, etc., and take the learning results as an important reference for evaluating the work of teachers, and at the same time, you can set up a learning reward system to recognize and reward teachers with excellent performance, so as to motivate them to participate in the learning more actively.

Strengthen team building and promote collaborative learning. Learning groups or learning teams can be formed to allow teachers to deepen their understanding and application of theoretical knowledge through collective discussions and joint research, etc. At the same time, learning exchange activities can be organized regularly to allow teachers to share their learning experiences and insights, and to promote mutual learning and common progress.

Continuously improve the political theory learning system and realize its normalization, systematization and standardization. Strengthen and deepen the monitoring, supervision and evaluation of teachers’ political theory learning. To ensure that learning activities are carried out in an orderly manner by constructing a system of learning discipline, random checking mechanism of motivational assessment, etc. To ensure that all aspects of learning are effectively implemented by including learning plans, learning records, learning materials, attendance records, and records of learning archives.

Establish and improve the information supervision system of campus new media, and continuously optimize the information environment of new media. Strict supervision and management of information dissemination in the new media environment. This is not only an important measure to enhance the effect of ideological and political education, but also a necessary means to guarantee information security in the new media environment, filtering undesirable information, guiding correct public opinion, etc. The school will actively create a healthy and upward campus cultural atmosphere and provide a good environment for teachers’ political theory learning.

The assessment system should reflect professionalism and pertinence. It is clear that political theory learning plays an important role in cultivating a high-quality teaching team. Political theory learning is not only an independent task, but also needs to be closely integrated with teaching and scientific research to promote each other and ensure that teachers have a firm political stance and correct ideological orientation. It is necessary to take into account the characteristics of different disciplines and the professional background of teachers to develop assessment indicators and methods that are in line with reality. Through in-depth exploration of teachers’ professional strengths and comparative advantages, the study of political theory is closely integrated with teachers’ professional development, and teachers’ learning motivation and creativity are stimulated.

The assessment process focuses on the combination of process and result. Through regular collection of learning materials, listening to teachers’ reports, checking learning records, etc., we have a comprehensive understanding of the learning situation and progress of teachers; we use diversified assessment means, such as questionnaire tests, knowledge competitions, case studies, etc., to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth assessment of the learning effect; at the same time, we should also set up a feedback mechanism to give feedback on the assessment results to the teachers in a timely manner, to help them know the situation of their own learning and the direction of improvement, to promote the political theory learning to continuously make new progress and achievements.