The mission of education is changing according to the changing system of social values. Developed concepts related to the conformities of human growth determine the content, education and upbringing methods, pedagogic position and thinking, and way of life in educational institutions.

The paper looks at the problems regarding the transition to the new educational paradigm. The author has conducted the historical review and retrospective analysis of the existing over the centuries educational paradigms: natural, civil, Christian, anthropological, and classical. The main emphasis is placed on the latter paradigm based on the principle of conformity to nature and learner’s perception and memorization of the ready-made educational material, since that out-of-date explanatory and illustrative traditional method still remains the most popular in pedagogic environment and dominating over the last three centuries in the world education. Lecture–workshop system of higher education appears to be its specific version based on the same theoretical principles. Most school teachers and academic staff at universities, colleges and vocational schools – some of them without special pedagogic education – work successfully according to Komensky, the founder of the class-lesson system of education.

The comparison between the above mentioned classical paradigm and developing modern one in Russian educational system is given. The most significant contro- versies between the two educational models, preventing the implementation of the perspective innovations, are examined. It is emphasized that they can be solved on the theoretical and technological basis of the context teaching. 

 The paper reveals the basic statements of the author’s concept of the pedagogical hermeneutics – the theory and practice of text interpretation of different genres focused on deeper and detailed understanding with the reference to socio- cultural traditions, reflective comprehension of the emotional and spiritual human experience, as well as personal experience of educational process participants. It has been proved that pedagogical hermeneutics is required as a methodology of the humanistic understanding of the cultural phenomena, being based on the idea of mediated influence of cultural texts comprehension methods on human consciousness, ways of thinking, world views, and other education related spheres such as forecasting, modeling, projecting, diagnosing and pedagogic communication.

The paper describes the principles and methods of pedagogic hermeneutics such as cultural mediation, integrity, metaphor conceptualization, inter-text method, converted forms, convertibility of mentality, etc. The research findings are assessed applying the Author’s Concept Interpretation method by A. N. Slavskaya, the Semantic Differential and M. Rockich’ method, etc. The suggested approach can be implemented in comprehensive school, teachers’ training and research work. 

The paper looks at the opportunities for the school transition to the state-social management system based on the project approach application. The principle methods and procedures for the project initiation are observed along with the project organization and planning, recourse provision and project monitoring. According to the author, the most effective form of initiating the management modernization project simultaneously involves the two participants: the internal (school management) and external (educational management organizations), provided that the external one sets the main requirements. 

Using the project approach allows the fast knowledge accumulation for further application. In this regard, it is more efficient than the program-targeted management requiring more time and effort for fulfilling the program. In author’s opinion, the project method can be extended to solving the problem situations. For example, its appli- cation is the most expedient in step-by-step implementation of the state-social management, given that not every school can restructure the existing management system by itself. 

The paper deals with the findings of the long-term research into the professional development process of the school academic body. The methodology of the research combines the systematic, functional, acmeological and subject approaches. The research outcome concerns the concept of professional development and growth of academic staff in the modern conditions of educational system reorganization. The core concepts include the description of stages reflecting the academic staff professional growth and their cooperation ways. Each stage is characterized by the degree of academic staff readiness for solving new educational problems.

The research findings can provide the management of educational establishments with the necessary assistance in identifying the levels of academic staff readiness for fulfilling the competence model of education. 

The paper explores the theoretical and practical aspects of interactive mode of teaching students by using active educational methods improving the quality of educational process and increasing students’ motivation for comprehensive and in-depth learning. The list of interactive teaching techniques is given providing the development of necessary professional abilities and skills, and fostering students’ responsibility for training results, critical thinking, reflexive skills, self-dependency in solving educational problems, training mobility, etc. The detailed descriptions of effective, yet comparatively new in subject-based teaching, methods of case studies and cross-cultural communication are provided, the opportunities for their implementation indicated.

The paper emphasizes such aspects of educational process as self-assessment and peer-assessment of students’ achievements. The authors suggest the original approach to educational results evaluation in interactive educational environment, shifting the emphasis from students’ lack of knowledge and skills onto their abilities and achievements. The exact criteria of current control help optimize students’ extracurricular self-dependent work, providing teaches with the feasible leverages for controlling this important activity significantly enlarged in proportion in modern education. As the final control, the authors have chosen defending the thematic portfolio in electronic form, which allows integrating qualitative and behavioral assessment of the assimilated training course.

The present research was carried out in the context of the competence paradigm of education. The paper contains the research findings in the field of comparative pedagogy and demonstrates the experience of implementing the interactive teaching mode exemplified by «Sustainability and the Environment» virtual course for bachelors and master’s degree holders training in the humanities and natural sciences profiles. 

Based on the comparative analysis of different kinds of philosophic thinking, the paper reveals the advantages of subjective philosophy – the most adequate universal essentiality of socialized human being, opening the prospects for Russia as the creative society of cultural spontaneous activity. Objective principle of thinking is limited by the logic of outward definition. According to the above logic, people are regarded as tiny parts of social mechanism, the objects of manipulation. Separating action from spontaneous activity, object changes from self-alteration of human subject, executive functions from norm-creating ones brings about alienated practices and such social situation that makes individuals perceive their own existence as alien non- existence, or opposing existence.

Subjectivity is a form of social activity regarding individuals and groups according to their ability in self-definition, self-organizing, self-control, norm-creating, as well as their actual rights and duties in social spheres of needs and objectives, and their feasible power over forces of nature and society.

Subjective philosophy perceives the material production as the means for cultivating wholesome and spontaneously active individuals due to educational fundamentality and cultural prosperity. Accordingly, accumulation of capital turns into accumulation of culture and personal creativity growth.

The results of the undertaken analysis and its conclusions can be implemented in developing creative anthropological bases for philosophy, pedagogy, psychology, economics, political science, as well as the relating discipline teaching. 

The paper deals with the interrelations between society, education and culture. Using the comparative analysis of classical approaches to defining the above spheres, the author comes to conclusion that the nature of socio-cultural processes can be explored and described most consistently by applying comprehensive models of the post-non-classical science and considering civilization, education and culture in the context of the unified dynamic flow of socio-cultural genesis.

The research investigates the dialectics of socio-cultural processes in the light of systematic synergetic approach, the advancing role of education in socio-cultural dynamics being revealed and substantiated. The author emphasizes its inevitably rising priority due to sustained development of civilization bringing about the new environmentally-oriented meta-culture.

The obtained results can be used in pedagogic research methodology, designing and modeling the educational process, its content, technology and organization. 

The paper considers over again the problem of the low quality of the scientific pedagogic research of the recent time. The author analyses numerous publications concerning the above problem and presents his opinion on the actual reasons for stagnation in the modern national pedagogy. Its crisis is primarily caused by ignoring the complications of the world perception, changing world outlook, as well as by long ago developed but rejected necessity for devising new methodological principles and value- and objective-oriented educational attitudes.

The exact forms and methods of professional activity of pedagogic process participants are derived from the definite historically developed complex lying in their foundation. The educational system structure depends on the logic of cultural structure of the related era both from the methodological and organizational viewpoint. However, our pedagogy retains the position of the New Time classical methodology not complying with the non-classical paradigm, all the more so with the post-non-classical science. The demonstrative appeal to synergetics – the attempt of pedagogy to position itself in terms of post-non-classical science – still remains doubtful.

Not persisting on the absolute correctness of his position, the author invites teaches and specialists from educational sphere to the scientific discussion to facilitate, even partially, the existing problem solving. 

The paper considers the problem of educational quality assessment considerably complicated by socio-cultural multidimensionality of educational process obstructing the development of comprehensive quantitative criteria. Formal monitoring can not always evaluate teaching plan, identify the culturalogy bases of education and upbring- ing, denote the atmosphere and way of life in educational institution, realize the personal growth directions and self-development potentials guaranteeing the growth. Quality management of education should involve continuous feedback from the participants of educational process to facilitate the effectiveness of the results. It is indicated, that too much control over the functions of educational institution most often does not result in quality improvement distorting the values and goals of education and upbringing.

The research findings can be applied in the field of educational theory, its culturalogical directions, and development management of educational systems and processes. 

The paper is devoted to peculiarities of using the debate method in teaching argumentation to 10–12 year-old children. The research is aimed at identifying the most effective ways and means of applying the given method. According to the author’s hypothesis, regular integration of discussions into the training course of rhetoric should promote learners’ argumentation, changing it from a mere fantasy through egocentric attitudes to the objective position expressed in a conclusive argumentative way.

To achieve the research objectives, the experimental training method was developed applying the debate technique in the form of role plays adapted to peculiarities of children’s age. The experimental results indicated the decentration dynamics in the training process and, therefore, the effectiveness of the experimental training course.

The presented training program can be used in teaching rhetoric to 10–12 year- olds, as well as in the optional argumentation course based on the debate technique. In addition, the analysis of children’s argumentation position in the context of socio-cognitive approach can give an impetus for further studies of children’s speech and thinking.