Unity. Solidarity. Togetherness. Kotahitanga is a mātauranga Māori concept that is prevalent everywhere and for everyone. Historically, kotahitanga has strong links to Māori people who may not have connections with hapu (extended families) or iwi (tribe usually made of several hapu). Kotahitanga is to unify and unite these Māori.
Irrespective of your whakapapa (genealogy) and your mahi (work), kotahitanga is something we should all aspire to have with the people we surround ourselves with. Our National Certificate of Educational Achievement in NZ is currently having a refresh and the concept of kotahitanga is at the core of one of our new PE units. I have really enjoyed the unit!!
To achieve a feeling and a sense of kotahitanga requires a lot of groundwork. A team won’t feel like they belong or gel as one straight away – this takes time, and strategies need to be applied/implemented. We know this as teachers, as we establish our classroom culture/foundation every time we get a new class.
Consider kotahitanga as the waka (boat) that a group/team/class is on. Everyone on the waka has an end goal or purpose or challenge – a destination to travel to. To reach the destination, a lot of strategies need to be applied throughout the journey to be able to navigate the ocean. These strategies are like our oars propelling the waka through the water. The oars/strategies can enhance kotahitanga and ultimately increase success to get closer to and/or reach the destination.
The visual alongside shows the 8 strategies I focused on with my students. See here to learn more about kotahitanga within NCEA and see here the resource I made. I am certainly still on the waka/learning journey myself but here are the resources I have made for each strategy for my students:
We have had an array of different activities throughout the unit to teach the strategies and to build our kotahitanga including; ABL, dance, invasion games, and traditional cultural games. I have loved the variety and that there has been a huge growth in trust, students’ confidence, support and empathy for others as a result of focusing on increasing kotahitanga. We have seen many times that united we stand, divided we fall.
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