Main stages of the formation and development of the competence approach in western European education

The paper studies the retrospective analysis of the main stages of the formation and development of the competence approach in Western European education. The authors analyse the works studying the implementation of the competence approach in higher education systems of Western European countries, examine the stages of implementation of the basic principles of the Lisbon Convention on the recognition of qualifications relating to higher education in the European Region, reveal the main groups of key competencies identified by the Council of Europe. The article deals with the problem of improving the quality of modern education which is urgent for both the entire world community and Russia. The paper highlights the main stages of the implementation of the key statements of the Declaration of the European Commission and European Ministers of Education on the development of cooperation in the sphere of vocational education and training in Europe (2002), including: the creation of a single European space in the sphere of vocational education; solving the problem of recognition of competencies; creation of a unified system of credit units; development of special (professional) competencies, general indicators (descriptors) of quality, etc. The authors conclude that foreign experience in the formation and development of a competence approach in education is actively used in the theory and practice of national education.