The paper discusses，with respect to current policy environment and social needs in China，four aspects of teaching and research innovation to achieve high-quality development of regional compulsory education. These innovative practices include conducting field research guided by practical problems and educational research aiming at improving the quality of teaching and research，and enhancing school teachers’ professional growth through the teaching and research curricularisation and teaching innovation supported by ICT，namely ‘smart teaching and research’. The following measures are suggested for further development：to address the problem of uneven teacher development among schools by strengthening classroom teaching and research，and to meet the needs for improving beginner teachers’ educational and teaching ability by increasing training investment，deepening the integration of teaching and research into school district management through research in the primary and secondary schooling transition，and breaking away from assessment only for the goals of examination scores set by higher authorities by promoting smart education in the region.