Multicultural Navigators

Drawing on the canon of literature on the critical values of social capital, sociologist Prudence Carter has coined a term for a specific type of informational and social resource for low-income and racial and ethnic minority students: multicultural navigators. In response to the confluence of factors—such as poverty, racism, and social marginalization—that cripple the educational mobility and attainment of low-income or disadvantaged racial and ethnic minority students, Carter discusses in her book, Keepin' It Real: School Success Beyond Black and White, the critical need for persons who can assist these youth on their trajectories for better lives. Multicultural navigators are critical social ties for disadvantaged students who are limited in their fluency for navigating mainstream cultural practices requisite for educational and economic mobility.

In another highly ...