The conducted research is devoted to the issue of target-setting in the system of higher education. The stated issue was initially solved as a development of models of specialists. In the late 1960s there formed two directions that researchers followed. The first one represented by E. Smirnova’s works focused on two separate objects: humans and their activity. The second direction is connected with the name of N.F. Talyzina who proposed a special language to describe the goals of learning – the language of professional tasks. However, “a model of specialist” in all its aspects used in the late 1960s – early 1980s contained regulatory characteristics, that is, standard (etalon) attributes, thus not being a model proper.
The analysis of professional activity proper requires methodological framework suitable for this activity. Activity approach and psychological activity theory become such a universal framework but remain the matter of scholarly and philosophic discussions. Within this approach the author analyzes the structure of creative activity and singles out the structure of humanitarian activity and the structure of professional activity of PR specialist. Based on the analysis of the stated structures the conclusion is made that humanitarian training is not only capable of but bound to perform professional functions to educate non-humanitarian specialists.
Activity approach is also employed by the author to analyze the concept of professional goal. Based on this concept two ways to train generalists are proposed. In the first case generalist mode is maintained by the system of professional goals of a certain personnel “module”. The second way is based on the usage of general methods to solve professional goals of different personnel modules.
Finally, the conclusion is made that competence approach is not applicable to distinguish activity structures but it can be extensively applied to distinguish professional goals.