The concept of "competence-based approach" became extremely popular at the beginning of the new millennium. Now it is precisely this principle of organizing the education system that has been adopted in all countries - participants of the Bologna Agreement. However, it began to form much earlier, in the middle of the last century.
A few decades ago, a graduate of any higher educational institution had to have a strictly defined amount of knowledge, skills and abilities. What the university gave him fully corresponded to the standards of the workplace that the graduate was supposed to occupy. In the conditions of the Soviet planned economy, this was a positive development. But similar principles were adhered to in countries with market relations. As a result, a young engineer or scientist with high qualifications was unprepared for changes in economic conditions. The competence-based approach was formed gradually and rather slowly. The first steps can be considered the training of specialists with several related specialties. To be competitive in the labor market, a modern specialist must be able to quickly retrain and adapt to changing conditions. The educational paradigm should also correspond to these features of the modern situation. Economic conditions are changing somewhat faster than higher and even more secondary school, therefore the main task of a modern educational institution is to teach how to learn. At the same time, it is not a strictly standardized amount of knowledge that is given, but competencies in certain areas of activity. The graduate adapts his qualifications to the requirements of a particular workplace on his own. He himself decides in which area he needs deeper knowledge. The educational institution forms students' abilities for individual non-standard solutions. The competence-based approach involves not only training, but also the upbringing of the individual. The specialist must know the consequences of his actions, and must be able to bear responsibility for these consequences. This requires the ability to quickly assess the situation, and comprehensively. As for the organization of the educational process with a competence-based approach, clear and comparable descriptions of what a person will know and be able to do after completing the training course are pre-laid in the curriculum. This approach allows, in turn, to compare the training programs adopted in different countries. This approach became the basis of the Bologna Agreement. The standardized assessment methods are called descriptors. Now they are used in secondary educational institutions. The competence-based approach is gradually penetrating into the school. Particular attention is paid to interdisciplinary connections, the development of self-education skills, the formation of logical thinking, which allows the student to independently seek and evaluate information. This educational paradigm ensures the continuity of different levels of education.
