DEFINING, CLASSIFYING AND DEVELOPING SOFT SKILLS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: COMPETENCY-BASED AND HUMANISTIC APPROACHES

The focus of this research is on the problem of paradoxical and ambiguous development of soft skills in the context of modern education. In present-day scientific discourse, soft skills are addressed from two perspectives representing the competency-based approach relying on the theory of human capital and the humanistic approach rooted in the concept of Bildung. The performed analysis suggests that the main difference between these positions can be found in their educational goals: to develop the student's soft skills for the sake of treating the student either as a means or as an end (by Kant's ethics). Modern educational theory and practice are characterized by the first approach: Universities are aimed at satisfying the needs of the labor market (in keeping with the knowledge-driven economy pressing for development of soft skills). The comparative analysis of the revealed viewpoints demonstrates limitations of the competency-based approach and suggests the importance of its humanization. The latter can be achieved, among other things, through refocusing from the human capital theory to the human capability approach.