This thesis examines women’s spirituality in social work practices in Aotearoa - New Zealand. The recognition of spirituality in the work environment and the importance of spirituality in informing identity, brings forth legacies of meaning as groundings within which to inform the art and science of relationships fundamental to social work. In Aotearoa these hold significance for social justice work. Social work as a profession recognises Te Tiriti o Waitangi (1840) as a foundation document: our obligations and respect for the land and within the sacred cosmos of Aotearoa is bound to te Tiriti which this thesis explores. The forms of spirituality in social workspaces are examined through autoethnography, narrative, conversations, literature reviewed, an interpretative qualitative study, that are all supported by imagery, metaphor, storying methods of Celtic methodology. The making of meaning, meaning systems, beliefs, hopes and goals of workers and communities and these cognitive existential perspectives enable ongoing meanings which need to be recognised, applied and endorsed in social work practise.

The research draws from a sample of seventeen ethnic women social workers through appreciative conversation, placing narratives alongside theories of doxy, feminist theories, narrative, Indigenous knowledge systems. Each are offered as a lens to the women’s understandings of her spirituality within a social work context that includes their own challenges to spirituality. The thesis details how through these participants sensitive creative work and their enduring knowledge about human suffering today, findings reveal their fascinating inventiveness, beauty, hopes, and creative feminine spiritual traditions of care. As noted in the research, our words carry our culture, identity, spirituality to us, reinforcing our identity with humans and with others.