Empirical Study of the Mediating Role of Executive Function Between Pre-School Experience and Primary School Academic Achievement in Lagos State

Executive function skills including working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility are theorised to mediate the relationship between pre-school experience quality and primary school academic outcomes, yet this mediation pathway has not been empirically tested in Nigerian early childhood research. This study empirically examined the mediating role of executive function skills between pre-school experience quality and primary one academic achievement among children in Ikeja and Alimosho Local Government Areas, Lagos State. A prospective cohort design enrolled 280 children at kindergarten entry. Pre-school experience quality was assessed using a parent-reported quality scale. Executive function was assessed at kindergarten exit using the Dimensional Change Card Sort, Day-Night task, and backward digit span. Primary one academic achievement was measured at the first-term end-of-year assessment. Structural equation modelling was applied. Pre-school quality showed a significant direct effect on academic achievement (beta = 0.31, p < 0.001) and a significant indirect effect through executive function (beta = 0.19, p < 0.01). Executive function partially mediated the quality-achievement relationship. Inhibitory control was the most powerful executive function mediator. Children from lower-income households showed the largest executive function benefits from quality pre-school experience. The study provides the first empirical evidence for executive function mediation in Nigerian ECD research and recommends executive function-promoting activities as a core component of quality pre-school curricula and ECD teacher training. Keywords: executive function, pre-school quality, academic achievement, mediation, Lagos State