Abstract

The article draws attention to the nature and characteristics of culture­centric, process, institutional and organizational approaches to form the essence of the educational process as a whole. The author examines the university not only as an educational and scientific center, but also as a spiritual center, forming a new type of professional identity. It is noted that as a social phenomenon, process and social institution, education makes social changes in society, and the transparent nature of social processes, the dominance of market relations in turn affect the educational institute. However, the institutional approach makes it possible to consider the educational processes on social, and personal levels. It is observed that the institutionalization of higher education as a particular social institution within the entire social institution of education occurred in the second half of the twentieth century, which allowed to talk about the leading role of universities in modern culture. The author stresses that the theory of higher education is the widely recognized thesis that has multiple arguments. They are governed by national law based on national finance, train specialists for the national economy. In fact, the emergence of new forms of relationships is a positive social process, but there are also negative effects. Their premise, according to some researchers, was globalization, the effect of «market forces» that contribute to the development of «a world without borders».