Abstract. The author defines the range of problems connected with forming and changing of educational space and educational milieu under the influence of information and communication technologies. The notions "space" and "milieu" are reconsidered in the frame of this theme. Comparing existing general positive background of the development of information technologies in educational space the author discloses the risks of endless and uncontrolled development of infocommunications, their specificity in the postmodern epoch, the role of information from the viewpoint of non-classic methodology.

Modern civilisation has entered the era of the fourth industrial revolution, characterised by digital, Internet and cyber-expansion, virtualisation, mobile technologies, robotisation, global changes in energy, nano- and biotechnologies. It entails significant changes in all spheres of human activity. There is a mass need for entirely new professions. Scientific and technological progress gives the society not only broad prospects but also brings new challenges and threats. There is a tight (not always fair) competition between the leading countries of the world and transnational corporations for domination in entering the sixth technological order, to lead in digital technologies and artificial intelligence. At this stage, educational systems should provide revolutionary changes based on the latest scientific achievements. One more dangerous threat is that the achievements of modern science and high technologies are not always used for the benefit of humanity, that is, large-scale cyber-attacks, hybrid wars, public consciousness manipulation. Form this point, the formation of a single global educational space, taking into account the humanistic needs of the society, seems really important. The fourth industrial revolution leads to personality changes and not always in a positive direction. This is especially true of the generation “Y” or “network generation”, consuming “intellectual fast food” and easily falling under the influence of others and becoming a victim of manipulation. It also includes the problem of virtual reality, which influences the person so profoundly that he/she falls out of the real world. Obviously, education must also undergo a systemic transformation, based on the characteristics of the modern information society and the globalising world that has entered the postmodern and mass media era. The issues mentioned above are deeply and critically analysed and discussed in this study both from the global and BRICS (precisely Russia) countries perspective. The authors eventually suggest some ways to solve them.

Abstract. The authors research the problems of increasing in modern conditions society demands for qualitative characteristics of education services. The quality of education is considered as one of the determining factors of forming educational space. The paper analyzes the influence of social and economic conditions inherent in the post-industrial era on forming and transforming of education space at the modern stage of society development, shows the ways to overcome emerging contradictions. The authors pay special attention to the significance of project approach in solving the problems of improving education quality.

The present study shows post-modernism as a philosophical movement and its ideas' influence on education. The research develops in two directions: firstly -in defining and studying specific traits of post-modernism (including its various theoretical concepts) that have the potential to influence the education system and that really influenced the structure, content and organizational forms of educational process; secondly, in demonstrating the real impact in modern conditions (at the end of the 20 th -the beginning of the 21 st centuries) on the total education in the United States by studying the changes in U.S.schools. The value of this work lies in the fact that, for the first time, it examines the influence of postmodernism ideas in this formulation of problems and their specific solutions. For the first time, the problem of post-modernism influence as a philosophical movement is considered not only through theoretical analysis but also through the study of practice in the following complex: via regulations, norms, reports, research papers, reflective analysis of changes in USA high school. The authors believe (and the study proves it) that in the United States of America the influence of postmodern ideas on education (namely: schools) has appeared the most profound and, to a certain extent, productive. The size of this article and the present state of research does not allow to reflect the results of the survey of the USA schools' practitioners as evidence of our ideas, which will be presented later.

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