THE EFFECT OF EDUCATIONAL ROBOTICS ON COGNITIVE, SOCIOEMOTIONAL, AND CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT AMONG PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA: THE ROLE OF TEACHER READINESS AND RESOURCE AVAILABILITY

Abstract

Educational robotics is increasingly being recognised as an innovative pedagogical approach for strengthening early childhood learning outcomes, particularly in enhancing problemsolving, collaboration, and creativity. However, its classroom integration in many low-resource contexts remains limited and uneven, with implementation often influenced by teacher preparedness and access to instructional resources (Ouyang & Xu, 2024; Voogt et al., 2023). This study examined the effect of educational robotics on the cognitive, socioemotional, and creative development of pre-school children in Lagos State, Nigeria, with particular attention to the role of teacher readiness and resource availability. A quasi-experimental design, complemented by correlational analysis, was adopted. The sample comprised 101 pre-school children and 15 teachers drawn from 15 schools across five educational districts in Lagos State. Data were collected using structured observation checklists, a teacher readiness questionnaire, and a robotics resource inventory, with reliability coefficients ranging from α = .82 to .88. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, and Pearson correlation were employed for data analysis at the 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed that children exposed to educational robotics demonstrated significantly higher cognitive outcomes, particularly in problem-solving and logical reasoning, with additional gains in memory, literacy, and numeracy. Significant improvements were also observed in socioemotional development, including collaboration, communication, empathy, and self-regulation, as well as in creative development through imagination, experimentation, and divergent thinking (p < .001). Teacher readiness and resource availability were significantly associated with all developmental outcomes. The study concluded that educational robotics can effectively support holistic preschool development when reinforced by adequate teacher competence and access to appropriate instructional resources. The findings highlighted the need for context-sensitive integration strategies to strengthen early childhood education in Nigeria.