Quantitative evaluation of China’s pre-service teacher education policies based on the PMC-Index model (1949–2024)

Quality education constitutes a pivotal component of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and well-designed Pre-service Teacher Education Policies (PTEPs) are fundamental to supporting the smooth realization of this objective at the policy design level. To evaluate China’s PTEPs systematically, this study selected 58 China’ PTEPs spanning the period from 1949 to 2014, and constructed a quantitative evaluation model by the PMC-Index and large reasoning models. It was found that the PMC-Index scores of the selected 58 PTEPs achieved a relatively high mean PMC-Index score of 8.73 (out of a maximum 10), indicating a high degree of internal coherence. From the historical perspective, the scores across the four periods progressively increase. From the perspective of evaluation dimensions, the top three dimensions in terms of curvature value are the policy issuing authority, policy timeline, and policy object. From the perspective of policy types, the clustering analysis reveals that PTEPs can be broadly classified into four categories. These findings can provide preliminary references for the design of PTEPs in other developing countries, particularly regarding the structural features associated with higher coherence scores. However, such references should be interpreted with caution, as coherence in policy design does not guarantee effectiveness in policy implementation.