| Abstrakt: |
South Africa is a nation of diverse groups, each with its own characterised ethnicity, cultural heritage, language, history, and beliefs. The various public entities that make up the multicultural landscape of South Africa are marked by toponyms that allude to the above-mentioned characterising sociocultural aspects. Institutions of learning such as public schools are among the many entities which carry toponyms that are reflective of societal structures and shared community values. It is important to consider the historical background, and motivations behind the names of public schools in order to gain insight into the sociocultural factors and power relations at play. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to explore the significance of public school names and their meanings at Ga-Sekororo. The study was conducted using a qualitative research approach in the interpretive paradigm, with a case study as the research design. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were administered, with 12 participants that included 4 school principals, 4 community leaders, 2 regional circuit officials, and 2 of officials from the Departments of Education from Limpopo province, South Africa. The study's findings revealed that the significance of public school names at Ga-Sekororo is to commemorate persons from royalty and preserve their identity and history. In addition, the data suggest that public school names denote land custodianship to tribal authorities and that the schools named after geographical features are helpful in linking the schools with the environment they are found at. It is recommended that the names of public schools should be expanded to include not only names of members of the royal council, but also names of individuals who have made significant contributions to the community. Names of public schools should draw inspiration from a memorable event in the community regardless of whether persons associated with the event are royalty or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
