Stories
A Collection of Youth Work Theories and Practice
The purpose behind Stories is to provide accessible research and practice stories that support practitioners and organisations to embed a lens of the Circle of Mana into practice.
Each quarter, a new peer-reviewed article will be released onto this platform, written by a Praxis team member or friend that connects the essence of our Praxis Ideas and the Circle of Mana.
Editors: Dr Judy Bruce, Miriam Bucknell, TΔneora Ryall & Michael Smith
Journeying with Jesus
β³οΈ
Transformative Communities
β³οΈ
Ako
β³οΈ
Learning in Action
β³οΈ
Practicing what we teach
β³οΈ
Honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi
β³οΈ
Learning spaces of diversity and inclusion
β³οΈ
Care for creation
β³οΈ
Excellence and generosity
β³οΈ
Grace and talanoa
β³οΈ
Journeying with Jesus β³οΈ Transformative Communities β³οΈ Ako β³οΈ Learning in Action β³οΈ Practicing what we teach β³οΈ Honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi β³οΈ Learning spaces of diversity and inclusion β³οΈ Care for creation β³οΈ Excellence and generosity β³οΈ Grace and talanoa β³οΈ
Articles
Circle of Mana - Whakapapa by Lloyd Martin
The Circle of Mana is one of several models of development that are currently used in Aotearoa New Zealand by youth workers and educators.
This article traces the origins of the model, discussing how it has evolved from earlier iterations to capture what is important about working with young people. This journey is described in four periods (βactsβ). The article discusses how models of development have responded to social issues affecting young people in each period. It concludes by asking what issues future approaches to development will need to address.
βThe Circle of Mana challenges practitioners to move beyond seeing a young person as the object of our practice and recognise how they interact with their world, and value what they bring to the youth work relationship. β
Lloyd Martin, 2026