IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education (IOSR-JRME) e-ISSN: 2320–7388, p- ISSN: 2320-737x Volume 12, Issue 6 Ser. IV (Nov. – Dec. 2022), 62-67 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/7388-1206046267 www.iosrjournals.org 62 | Page A Probe into the Achievement Motivation of the School- Going Adolescents of South 24 Parganas Shyamal Mistry 1 , Santosh Mukherjee 2 ,Prof. Samirranjan Adhikari 3 1 (Research Scholar, Department of Education, Swami Vivekananda University, Barrackpore, West Bengal) 2 (Professor, Department of Education, Swami Vivekananda University, Barrackpore) 3 (Professor, Department of Education, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, West Bengal) Abstract: Achievement motivation plays an important role in the life of adolescents.Achievement motivationis a disposition to strive for success in competition with others with some standard of excellence, set by the individual. To ascertain the descriptive status of achievement motivation of School-going adolescents, the present study was carried out through the descriptive survey method by administering Deo-Mohan Achievement Motivation Scale (n-Ach) (Deo & Mohan, 1985)on a random sample of 577 School-going adolescents of South 24 Parganas. In the test, there are 50 items and with each item, a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 0 to 4 is attached; higher scores reflect higher achievement motivation. It was observed that the mean and standard deviation of the scores were 134.16 and 26.983 respectively. The mean reflects that School-going adolescents felt above-average achievement motivation. A high level of achievement motivation promotes the success of School-going adolescents in their learning process. It acts as a driving force in their academic achievement. Most of the School-going adolescents of South 24 Parganas had neglected to study habits during the COVID-19 lockdown, hence their need for achievement (n-Ach) was average. Key Word: Achievement Motivation, Need Achievement(n-Ach), School-going Adolescent. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 07-12-2022 Date of Acceptance: 20-12-2022 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction Achievement motivation (Need-achievement) is considered a prerequisite for success in academics as well as in other fields (Gesinde, 2000; Wani & Masih, 2015) 13,30 . Achievement motivation refers to the motive or desire of individuals to achieve a unique goal and standard of excellence in different fields of endeavour like education, culture, money, etc (McClelland, 1985) 20 . There is achievement motive, need, and desire for achievement which produces drive in school-going adolescents. That drive motivates them to act for reducing the drive-through achievement. Hence the behaviour of adolescents becomes goal-directed when they reach the desired goal, they get immediate encouragement. Achievementmotivation is not innate but learned by the process of socialization through family, school and society i.e., socio-culture environment (McClelland, 1985) 19 . A person‟s desire for achievement is acquired through experience from his or her childhood. Higher achievement motivation can be seen in those adolescents whose families encourage to them compete with a particular standard of excellence and in their initial failures, parents and other members of the household do not get upset but advise them to continue their maximum efforts with patience. As it is a learned motive, the role of school also becomes imperative for its development. So psycho-social environment provided at home and school must channel and foster a desire for achievement in school-going adolescents. Henry Murray (1938) 20 used the term „Need for Achievement‟ (n-Ach) at first. Murraydefined the need for achievement as a desire or tendency “to overcome obstacles, to exercise power, to strive to do something difficult as well and as quickly as possible.” Achievement motivationis a disposition to strive for success in competition with others with some standard of excellence, set by the individual (McClelland, Atkinson, Clark, & Lowell 1953) 22 .It refers to the motive or desire of individuals to accomplish a unique goal and to attain a high standard of excellence (McClelland, 1985) 20 and it directly influences the academic field NEED forAchievement DRIVE EFFORT (Success/ Failure) Achievement GOAL