EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION: AN INVESTIGATION ON HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN PASCHIM MEDINIPUR DISTRICT

Background:According to Behnke (2009), emotional intelligence directly influences motivation.The present study aims to know the significant difference in emotional intelligence and achievement motivation concerning their gender, grade, and stream of education and the significant relationship between emotional intelligence and achievement motivation among higher secondary school students in Paschim Medinipur district. Methods and Materials:This is a cross sectional survey study. 200 (100 boys and 100 girls) higher secondary school students (age mean 17.38 and SD 0.99)from two blocks i.e., Sabang and Pingla in Paschim Medinipur District randomly selected. One information sheet and two scales are used for data collection. The emotional Intelligence Scalewas developed by A. K. Singh and Shruti Narain, and culturally adopted by Ghorai and Mohakud (2016), and the achievement motivation Scale was developed by Prof. Pratibha Deo and Dr. Asha Mohan, and the Bengali version was adopted by Pakira and Mohakud (2017). After the test of Data Normality, Data was analysed through the SPSS 20 version with descriptive statistics viz. Mean and Standard Deviation and inferential statistics testing hypotheses applied t-test and Pearson correlation (r). Results:Results Show that emotional intelligence is not significantly differentamong higher secondary school students concerning their gender, grade, and stream of education. There is no significant difference exists in the achievement motivation concerning their gender and grade buta significant difference exists in the achievement motivation concerning their stream of education among higher secondary school students in Paschim Medinipur District.A positively moderate and significant correlation exists between emotional intelligence and achievement motivationamong higher secondary school students in Paschim Medinipur district. Conclusion:Higher secondary school students should be able to freely express their emotions, opinions, ask questions, and explore their inner needs in a welcoming and unrestricted environment both at home and at school. This will help them become more adept at emotional intelligence and achievement motivation as students.