Challenges of contemporary higher education

Abstract

The paper is aimed to resolve the trends in the transformation of the international academic society; to reveal the relevance of the virtual identity existence and its influence on the on-line image creation. In order to achieve the goal, the following tasks have been set: to examine teachers’ self-perception from a self-concept perspective; to view the development of concerns and beliefs about teaching in higher education; to analyze the shifts in the teacher’s focus of attention and the processes implicated in the articulation of tacit pedagogical knowledge and beliefs. The link between political geography and the curriculum design is emphasized. The Universities mission to teach young people around the world respect and international understanding is discussed. The opportunities offered by blended learning and the factors promoting sustainability within professional activity are revealed. The development of digitalization should be enhanced by the management culture, by investing in competence and support. The achievements in the educational innovation and the creation of the international academic community are discussed as the result of a complex of factors viewed in historical and sociological perspective. The paper emphasizes the necessity for individual human potential realization and discusses the content of the permeable structures that develops cross-disciplinary interaction, soft skills and critical thinking development. The novelty of the research is connected with the necessity to consider the appearance of the cultural behavioral patterns, which are based on the online ethnicity.