Achievement Motivation of Perspective Teachers

Achievement motivation is relatively a new concept in the world of motivation. It is essentially a type of motivation that is personal in nature. It owes its birth to U.S.A. and basically a product of a system toward materialism. Let us try to understand the meaning of such motivation. The basis of achievement motivations achievement motive i.e. a motive to achieve. Those who engage themselves in a task on account of an achievement motive are said to work under the spirit of achievement motivation. Therefore, in order to understand the meaning of the term achievement motive it is essential to know in detail the nature and meaning of achievement motive. When a student desires to become monitor of his class or captain of the football team, he is said to possess power motive and his desire to seek the reward and approval of his teachers or parents is termed as approval motive. Similarly, the desire to improve his performance at school or to get a good grade or to become a engineer and so on is known as achievement motive. The need to achieve is the spring – board of the achievement motive. This desire is as basic and natural as the other biological or socio-psychological needs. However, in a competitive society or set-up the desire to excel over others or achieve a higher level than one’s peers is intensified which in turn may lead to a stronger drive or motive to achieve something or everything that is essential to beat the others in the race and consequently experience a sense of pride and pleasure in the achievement is called the achievement motivation and has been defined in various ways.