V monografii osushchestvlen istoriko-geneticheskiy analiz protsessa stanovleniya missii uchitelya v Rossii XVIII - nachala XX vekov. Komponentami analiza vystupali gosudarstvennaya obrazovatel'naya politika Rossiyskoy imperii; sotsiokul'turnaya situatsiya, v kotoroy osushchestvlyalas' pedagogicheskaya deyatel'nost' uchiteley; sotsial'nyy status uchitel'stva; formiruemye sub"ektami rossiyskogo istoriko-pedagogicheskogo protsessa idealy pedagoga, opredelyayushchie normativnuyu model' pedagogicheskoy deyatel'nosti i trebovaniya k ego professional'no-lichnostnym kachestvam. V kontekste issleduemoy problemy analiziruyutsya vzglyady gosudarstvennykh i obshchestvennykh deyateley Rossii, pedagogov na rol' uchitelya, vypolnyaemye im funktsii; obosnovyvayutsya trebovaniya k professional'no-pedagogicheskoy kul'ture v logike politiko-obrazovatel'nykh i pedagogicheskikh traditsiy rossiyskoy sistemy obrazovaniya.