Investigating Children’s Moral Development through Folk Elements in Primary Education in Bangladesh

Particularly in elementary school, folklore is a key cultural and teaching instrument that helps children's moral and character development. This study sought (i) to investigate how folk elements support the moral development of primary school children in Bangladesh, (ii) to investigate the variations in the use of folk elements between rural and urban primary schools and their impact on students' ethical values and behavior and (iii) to suggest efficient strategies for including folk elements into the main education curriculum and classroom to improve students's moral and cultural development.Using qualitative approaches, the study included unstructured conversations with guardians, instructors, and students across seven main schools situated in both rural and urban parts of Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions, as well as classroom observations. The findings revealed that rural schools actively include folklore components—including traditional crafts, proverbs, and storytelling—into their curricula, therefore cultivating moral values, emotional ties with families, and student creativity. On the other hand, urban schools showed in the elementary level their use of folk elements with limited use of folklore in the upper level (classes 3,4, and 5), mostly focusing on academic achievements and technological integration,resultingin a lack of moral development among learners compared to rural pupils. Structural changes, enhanced library resources, folklore-based projects, and guardian awareness campaigns to protect the cultural legacy and inculcate moral values among students constitute recommendations. This study exposes the latent potential of folklore education to produce a balanced and culturally sensitive generation for the next generation.