Empirical Analysis of the Relationship Between Process Quality and Child Developmental Outcomes in Nigerian Government ECD Centres

Process quality in early childhood education, encompassing teacher-child interactions and classroom experiences, is theorised to be the proximate driver of child developmental outcomes, yet this relationship has not been empirically established for Nigerian government ECD settings. This study empirically examined the relationship between process quality and developmental outcomes in government ECD centres across six states representing all geopolitical zones: Kano (NW), Borno (NE), Abuja (NC), Enugu (SE), Lagos (SW), and Rivers (SS). A multi-site observational design was employed. Process quality was assessed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised in 120 classrooms (20 per zone). Child developmental outcomes were assessed using the Malawi Development Assessment Tool for 600 children (100 per zone). Multilevel regression models examined the process quality-outcome relationship after controlling for child age, sex, family income, and preschool attendance duration. Results showed a significant positive relationship between ECERS-R process quality and child developmental scores across all zones (beta = 0.43, p < 0.001). Teacher-child interaction quality was the most powerful quality predictor of outcomes, followed by learning activity quality. Zone-level variation in average quality scores was substantial (range 2.1 to 4.8 on ECERS-R), confirming significant geographic inequality. The study fills a critical empirical gap in Nigerian ECD quality research and recommends that the ECERS-R be adopted as a national ECD quality monitoring standard, with differentiated support provided to states with lowest quality scores. Keywords: process quality, ECERS-R, child developmental outcomes, Nigerian ECD centres, multi-site study