Socio-Сultural Trends in the Development of the Higher School's Innovative Potential

The paper offers a civilizational dimension for explanation of the higher school's innovative mission, bringing together the technological and humanitarian aspects of innovations and embracing the educational as well as cultural concerns. This dimension covers a range of central ideas in the history of the higher school development, describing such trends of its innovative activity as: social-centered, theology-centered, anthropocentric, profession-centered, scientific-centered, ideology-focused, and economy-focused one. Each of these trends is determined by the influence of a certain cultural dominant which sets priorities for education and innovative practice. Sustainable innovative potential can be ensured by simultaneous combination and interlacing of various trends. Meanwhile, the leading role has to belong to learner-centered construct of higher education which gives the chance of a personality's self- realization and of carrying out fruitful innovations.