Genesis of the Concepts of «competence» and «competency» in Pedagogical Thought

The development of competencies is an important aspect for every individual, as it ensures the achievement of high results in work and allows you to perform tasks more efficiently and professionally. In the modern world, there are concordant concepts of “competence” and “competency”, which are interpreted by scientists in different ways. The purpose of this article is to study the origin of the concepts of “competence” and “competency”, to clarify the definitions of each concept and the expediency of using these interpretations by teachers of general secondary education institutions. Conclusions. Establishing the relationship between the concepts of “competence” and “competency”, we consider it appropriate to focus on their distinction. In accordance with the studied interpretations of these concepts, we note that competency is interpreted by a certain institution or the state as a predetermined requirement for knowledge, skills, abilities that a person must have in order to be successful in the required field of activity. In turn, competence is an asset of the individual, which determines the qualitative level of knowledge, skills and the ability to implement them based on one’s own experience, which manifests itself at a critical moment through the ability to find a connection between the situation and knowledge, in making adequate decisions on an urgent problem. It is important to note that competence is directly related to competency, as it specifically outlines a given range of issues in the field of activity that a person should be well versed in, i.e. competent. Thus, competence is a predetermined set of knowledge, skills, and abilities, and competency is actually a qualitative characteristic of the acquisition of this knowledge and skills, which is manifested in the process of practical activity. Key words: competence, competency, language competence, competence-based approach, pedagogical competence, professional competence of a teacher.