“I help them see their potential”: The role of Cultural Navigators in Supporting the Professional Development of Immigrant and Refugee Family Childcare Providers

Cultural navigators (CNs) serve as a bridge between immigrants and refugees and receiving communities. CNs help individuals from minoritized cultural groups navigate human service and educational systems and provide connections to local resources, services, and social support systems. This qualitative case study describes the experiences and perspectives of three CNs and 35 family childcare (FCC) providers who participated in a program designed to support the business skills of FCC providers living in three distinct cultural communities, drawing on Yosso’s community cultural wealth framework (2005). Data indicated that the CNs’ lived experiences as refugees and immigrants enabled them to provide culturally and linguistically responsive support to the FCC providers, illustrating the aspirational, linguistic, social, and navigational capital of both navigators and providers.