The Report of the National Congress of the Communist Party of China serves as a strategic action plan guiding the Party’s initiatives during a specific period. The educational discourse within these reports reflects the Party’s strategic direction for national educational development. Through thematic and discursive analysis of educational discourse in the Party Congress Reports since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, within the framework of historical institutionalism, four sequential themes in the Party’s educational development strategy are identified: building a socialist cultural undertaking, promoting economic development through reform and opening up, enhancing well-being in a moderately prosperous society, and cultivating innovative talent for modernization. The evolution of educational discourse in the Party Congress Reports is influenced by deep structures, such as the political environment, economic system, cultural beliefs, and technological conditions, and exhibits significant path dependency, as evidenced by shared terms.Concurrently, the changing terms in the Party Congress Reports reflect continuous adjustment, update and establishment of the Party’s educational discourse, forming a driving mechanism that adapts to and directs educational reform. In the new age, the Communist Party of China’s strategy for educational development will increasingly emphasize a people-centered approach to delivering education that meets public expectations, prioritize cultivating innovative talent through diverse approaches, and strengthen quality and equity to enhance the accessibility and fairness of education.