From Inferiority to Empowerment: An Adlerian Reading of Student Motivation in Higher Education under NEP 2020

  • Unique Paper ID: 190992
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue: no
  • PageNo: 650-655
  • Abstract:
  • The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has a vision of a complete makeover in the existing education system in India, with a focus on development, teaching, and developing human skills. The modern-day students face issues of anxiety, lack of self-esteem, and motivational problems because of academic competition, pressures, and socio-economic differences. This research work uses Individual Psychology Theory, a theory by Alfred Adler, for analysing the motivational problems of the students at the university level as per the implementation of NEP 2020. The theory of inferiority feelings, striving for superiority, encouragement, and social interest by Adler has a great application in psychology with regard to understanding how individuals learn and overcome challenges. This research suggests that the application of flexibility, interdisciplinary learning, mentor support, and formative assessment, as described in the NEP-2020 guidelines, is largely in line with Adler’s emphasis on empowerment rather than a comparison formula. The application of an assessment structure that is encouraging, rather than a deficit-oriented assessment, has a great potential to convert inferiority feelings into a motive for improvement. The paper also delves deeper into how practices such as inclusive classrooms, caring teacher-student relationships, and learning routes, which are inspired by Adlerian psychology, can help instil a sense of confidence, feeling of belonging, and self-motivation in students. In this regard, the importance of humanistic psychological models has been brought to the forefront in the fulfilment of the vision that has been set by NEP 2020, especially when the presence of technology and artificial intelligence has become a dominant force in this modern age. Ultimately, the importance of a learning environment that makes a student a producer as well as a contributing member of society has been emphasized.

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BibTeX

@article{190992,
        author = {Architaba H Gohil},
        title = {From Inferiority to Empowerment: An Adlerian Reading of Student Motivation in Higher Education under NEP 2020},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {},
        volume = {12},
        number = {no},
        pages = {650-655},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=190992},
        abstract = {The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has a vision of a complete makeover in the existing education system in India, with a focus on development, teaching, and developing human skills. The modern-day students face issues of anxiety, lack of self-esteem, and motivational problems because of academic competition, pressures, and socio-economic differences. This research work uses Individual Psychology Theory, a theory by Alfred Adler, for analysing the motivational problems of the students at the university level as per the implementation of NEP 2020. The theory of inferiority feelings, striving for superiority, encouragement, and social interest by Adler has a great application in psychology with regard to understanding how individuals learn and overcome challenges. This research suggests that the application of flexibility, interdisciplinary learning, mentor support, and formative assessment, as described in the NEP-2020 guidelines, is largely in line with Adler’s emphasis on empowerment rather than a comparison formula. The application of an assessment structure that is encouraging, rather than a deficit-oriented assessment, has a great potential to convert inferiority feelings into a motive for improvement. The paper also delves deeper into how practices such as inclusive classrooms, caring teacher-student relationships, and learning routes, which are inspired by Adlerian psychology, can help instil a sense of confidence, feeling of belonging, and self-motivation in students. In this regard, the importance of humanistic psychological models has been brought to the forefront in the fulfilment of the vision that has been set by NEP 2020, especially when the presence of technology and artificial intelligence has become
a dominant force in this modern age. Ultimately, the importance of a learning environment that makes a student a producer as well as a contributing member of society has been emphasized.},
        keywords = {Alfred Adler, Individual Psychology, Student Motivation, Inferiority Feelings, Empowerment in Education, NEP 2020, Human Potential.},
        month = {},
        }

Cite This Article

  • ISSN: 2349-6002
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue: no
  • PageNo: 650-655

From Inferiority to Empowerment: An Adlerian Reading of Student Motivation in Higher Education under NEP 2020

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