Transmission of Bayu folk songs in kindergarten education: A case study of Southwest University experimental kindergarten in Chongqing, China

Yilian Liao and Pitsanu Boonsrianan

African Educational Research Journal
Published: September 23 2026
Volume 14, Issue 3
Pages 803-811
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22914727

Abstract

This study investigates the transmission of Bayu folk songs in kindergarten education through a case study of the Experimental Kindergarten of Southwest University in Chongqing, China. Focusing on preschool children aged 3–6 and two selected local songs, Huang Si Ma Ma and Pang Xie Ge, the study employed a qualitative case-study approach using field observations, interviews, documentary materials, audio-visual records, and score-based musical analysis. The findings show that kindergarten versions of the songs were developed through a gradual process involving source identification, selection, textual and musical organisation, dialect clarification, adaptation, activity design, repeated practice, and continued use. Children learned the songs through four recurring and interconnected processes: modeling, imitation, repetition, and adjustment. These processes enabled teachers to provide flexible vocal, linguistic, and bodily guidance while helping children build familiarity and participate collectively. Transmission was further sustained through daily collective singing, game- and movement-based activities, collective dance and peer interaction, and presentation and festival activities, which together supported vocal memory, embodied learning, social coordination, and cultural visibility. The study concludes that kindergarten education can function as an active setting for sustaining Bayu folk-song traditions by transforming local cultural materials into flexible educational practices while maintaining their regional musical, linguistic, and cultural characteristics.

Keywords: Bayu folk songs, kindergarten education, cultural transmission, children’s folk singing, Chongqing.

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