INTRODUCTION
Achievement Motivation (also termed need for achievement, N-Ach) refers to an individual's desire for significant accomplishment, mastering of skills to meet high standards of excellence. It includes the intense, prolonged and repeated efforts to accomplish something difficult, to work with singleness of purpose towards a high and distant goal and to have the determination to win.
In this report we have measured the degree of achievement motivation among students of BITS, Pilani to find its effect on their academic performance. The academic performance of students is measured in terms of their CGPA.
To measure achievement motivation we have developed a questionnaire using the achievement motivation inventory with relevant changes. The questions have been divided in four different categories.
We have measured correlation between the achievement motivation score in the respective categories and the CGPA. Further we have studied the relation between aggregate achievement motivation score and the CGPA. We have also taken into consideration the role of gender in our study.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Many researches have been conducted to investigate what motivates students for better academic performance and whether it has a correlation with achievement motivation.
In the words of Atkinson and Feather (1966) , “The strength of motivation to perform some act is assumed to be a multiplicative function of the strength of the motive, the expectancy (subjective probability) that the act will have as a consequence the attainment of an incentive, and the value of the incentive: Motivation = f(Motive X Expectancy X Incentive)”.
According to them, a person’s achievement oriented behavior is a product of three factors:
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...10 21 22 62 6.7
37 male 2nd year 16 7 20 19 62 7.4
38 male 2nd year 16 9 18 19 62 6
39 male 2nd year 11 12 15 23 61 7.15
40 female 2nd year 15 11 20 15 61 8.25
41 male 3rd year 13 9 17 22 61 8
42 male 2nd year 14 9 15 23 61 7.4
43 male 2nd year 12 9 19 21 61 8.22
44 female 2nd year 11 8 17 23 59 5.89
45 male 2nd year 17 13 14 15 59 6.85
46 male 2nd year 14 9 14 21 58 6.09
47 male 2nd year 13 10 14 20 57 7.56
48 female 2nd year 7 8 18 23 56 5.56
49 male 1st year 13 11 15 16 55 6.9
50 female 2nd year 15 13 10 17 55 6.7
51 male 2nd year 13 10 14 17 54 5.5
52 male 2nd year 11 7 18 17 53 5
53 male 2nd year 13 13 15 12 53 7.14
54 male 2nd year 11 10 15 13 49 6.3
55 female 2nd year 10 5 14 17 46 8.12
56 male 4th year 9 7 17 11 44 7
57 male 3rd year 11 4 17 12 44 5
Correlation Coefficient 0.582791546 0.45217043 0.2721251 0.4521634 0.63478
Vallerand R., Fortier M. & Guay F. (2000) School motivation for teens. Journal of Education Today, December 2000
“Motivation is a complex part of human psychology and behavior that influences how individuals choose to invest their time, how much energy they exert in any given task, how they think and feel about the task, and how long they persist at the task” (Urdan & Schoenfelder, 2006). The biggest question educators face in today’s classroom is what motivates a student to do something and why? Virtually all students are motivated in one way or another. Research of student motivation suggests a theory that emphasizes a social-cognitive perspective. The cognition of students regarding academic work are influenced by social factors, such as messages from the teacher about the difficulty of the task, the perceived abilities of classmates, and the information about the importance of learning the material (Urdan & Schoenfelder, 2006). In this paper the focus will primarily be on those elements within the classroom that influence student motivation and engagement.
“Motivation is the process whereby goal-orientated activity is instigated and sustained” (Schunk, Pintrich & Meece, 2008. As cited in Eggen & Kauchak, 2010, p.284). Motivation comes in many forms and can be divided into two broad categories - extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivators are external factors which can motivate a student; rewards are an example of this. An issue with extrinsic motivators is that the desire for the learner to participate often lessens, once the rewards are withdrawn (McCullers, 1987). On the other hand intrinsic motivation comes from within - learning for the joy of it - where the desire to learn leads to a higher level of knowledge, and is a reward in itself. Kohn (1996, p.285) states that research suggests, “Rewards actually decrease interest in intrinsically motivating tasks, therefore sending the wrong message about learning” (as cited in Eggen & Kauchak, 2010a)
Motivation can come from two sources, from inside of you and from outside of you. It can come from your hopes and expectations. It is from your desire to do something or to be someone, but not everyone is highly motivated. In education, the most obvious kind of outside motivation are grades. For many students, course grades are an immediate, short-rage motivation for study, which means they study for grades and it may not become a goal in themselves. It would be wrong to set grades as their only ambition.
Motivation is important because it allows you to work towards and complete your goals. GPA allows you to see, on average, how well a student has performed in all classes they have taken. It is likely there is a relationship between motivation and GPA. If a student is highly motivated, will their GPA rise? Based upon previous research, it is hypothesized that students who are highly motivated will have a GPA of 3.0 or higher. Seventeen university students, 9 male and 8 female participated in the survey. The survey included 9 questions that measured motivation, measured on a Likert scale from 1-5. [Results].
Psychologists Bob Brooks and Sam Goldstein stated, “Our education system has determined that students who struggle need a greater degree of external motivation to stay engaged in academic tasks. Yet it is exactly those students whose intrinsic (natural) motivation must be nurtured and reinforced.” This leads to a way to encourage students without having to pay for it. The littlest phrases or gesture of admiration can build up a student’s confidence and self-esteem. Simple words of encouragement or a pat on the back may also influence students.
It is first important to understand how motivation works in the classroom. There are infinite procedures teachers use to achieve desired effects from their students, but there are general patterns these motivational tools follow. In order for teachers to communicate with their students, they must identify with their needs on an individual basis (Gawel, 1997). This proposal is much akin to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, which states five basic needs that must be met in order to achieve full motivation. These needs, in ascending order, are as follows: physiological, security, love and belongingness, esteem and self-respect, and self-actualization (Gawel, 1997). Each of these needs details a very important issue in motivation inside the classroom and out.
Students have no control over the contents of their educational life, they learn to accept the subordinate position they hold within the school stratification system. This acceptance thus prepares them for the position they will hold in the workforce, in which they will have to defer to the authority of their superiors. Within the experience of their school life students learn to be motivated by external factors. Education in itself is not intrinsically motivating to the student, as they have so little control over what they learn. They are expected to intake what is being taught without questioning it.
Pintrich, P. R. (2004). A conceptual framework for assessing motivation and self-regulated learning in college students. Educational Psychology Review, 16(4), 385-407.
Student motivation can be affected by several factors. These elements include parent involvement, teacher enthusiasm, rewards, peers, the learner’s environment, personal experiences, personal interests of the student, and self-esteem and self-image.
According to Greenberg (1999), motivation is defined “as a process of arousing, directing and maintaining behavior towards a goal.” Where “directing” refers to the selection of a particular behavior; and ‘maintenance” refers to the inclination to behave with consistency in that manner until the desired outcome is met.
Motivation, as defined in class, is the energy and commitment a person is prepared to dedicate to a task. In most of organisations, motivation is one of the most troublesome problems. Motivation is about the intensity, direction and persistence of reaching a goal. During the class, we have learned a substantial theories of motivation and many theories of motivations are used in real business. Each theory seems to have different basic values. But, they all have been analysed for one reason, recognising what motivates and increases the performance of employees. Ident...
Linnenbrink, E. A. & Pintrich, P. R. (2002). Motivation as an enabler for success. School Psychology Review, 31 (3), 313-327
Motivation is really important tool in a learning environment. Also motivation effects student learning and their behavior as well. It directs behavior towards particular targets. Also it effect the decision which students takes. In motivation mainly we have two types which is intrinsically and extrinsically being motivated. For example: when a student is intrinsically motivated they just do it for themselves not because of the reward that they will get back. It’s just because they have their own interest and they enjoy doing that. On the other side, when a student is extrinsically motivated they just do it for the reward that they will get. That’s why in learning process it’s important that each student should
Motivation is defined as “the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way”, or “the general desire or willingness of someone to do something.” Children are motivated by many things at an early age. It is easy to see that parents and peers play key parts in motivating children in their pursuit of education.