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ackgrounds - found themselves sharing the same experiences of
establishing schools in their area, to such an extent that they identified with
one another as a result of that shared experience.
This idea is also emphasised by G. de Vos and L. Romanucci-Ross (1975)
who point out that a sense of common origin, common beliefs and values, a
common sense of survival – in brief, a common cause – has been of great
importance in uniting men into self-defining groups 589 . They further argue
that growing up together in a social unit, sharing common verbal and
gestural language allows men to develop mutually understood
accommodations, which radically diminish situations of possible
confrontation and conflict. The Makgabeng communities which embarked on
common causes such as building schools together, found themselves
defining themselves as a “social unit”. In addition to communities becoming
clear “self-defining groups”, among them emerged new identities of school
children, school committees, school teachers, school principals and school
inspectors. These became clearly distinguished groups of people who
emerged in the Makgabeng area as a result of educational advancement in
that area.
The economic, educational and technological advancement which was
closely related to the migrancy of labourers in the Makgabeng area, brought
589 G. de Vos and L. Romanucci-Ross, Ethnic Identity: Cultural Communities and Change, p. 5.
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