Professional Assessment of ECD Teacher Training Institutions in South East Nigeria

Early childhood teacher training institutions in South East Nigeria are responsible for producing the ECD workforce, and professional assessment of their programme quality, resources, and alignment with national policy provides evidence for systemic improvement. This study professionally assessed ECD teacher training programmes at Colleges of Education in Anambra, Enugu, and Imo States, South East Nigeria. A structured institutional assessment was conducted at five colleges of education through documentation review, structured interviews with 15 ECD department heads and 30 lecturers, observation of 12 ECD methodology courses, and a structured survey of 120 ECD student teachers. Assessment dimensions covered curriculum alignment with national policy, field practice quality, resource adequacy, staff expertise, and graduate competency outcomes. Results showed that curriculum alignment with the National ECCE Policy was partial in four of five institutions. Field practicum placements were inadequate, with student teachers averaging only 4.2 weeks of practice across the entire programme. ECD-specific learning resources were severely limited in three institutions. Only 40 percent of ECD lecturers had practised as ECD teachers before joining the institution. Graduate competency assessments revealed gaps in practical skill domains. The study recommends strengthening practicum provisions, NUC-mandated curriculum updates, ECD-specific library resource grants, and mandatory practitioner experience requirements for ECD lecturer appointments across South East institutions.

Keywords: ECD teacher training, colleges of education, South East Nigeria, professional assessment, early childhood workforce