URBAN ISLANDS: How Social Capital Saves Lives

This chapter explores the factors that create and impact success for individuals that come from urban, and urban characteristic, environments and pursue professional careers in education. The purpose of this study is to determine the themes that are present in successful navigation of urban areas, framed as islands. Recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of social capital and resiliency theories to individually assess success factors, this work interviews seven educational professionals with advanced degrees that emerge from urban islands. Through thematic analysis and reduction, this work finds fourteen elements that are clustered to support four themes. The four themes are: (a) significant others, (b) affirmations, (c) navigating crisis and challenge, and (d) resource utilization. This chapter concludes with recommendations for policy, practice, and research.