This chapter focuses on a specific group, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD) families and their children from the Middle East, North Africa, and Southwest Asian (MENASWA) regions. The chapter articulates reasons behind the absence of information and data on these populations throughout the U.S. educational system, and more specifically, among SPED students. The uniqueness of this population is profiled, along with tips, guidance, and related activities for the readers and school leaders relating to this population.
TopIntroducing Menaswa Families
Much of the CLD population in the U.S. is left out of the creation of cultural equity in programming (Keo, 2010; Lo, 2008; McLeod, 2012). Current research presents most data based on Latinx and African American families in the United States (Lo, 2008), but doesn’t capture much information related to Asian families (e.g.; Lo, 2008) or other populations. A population that seems to be invisible in CLD research is that of the Middle East, North Africa, and Southwest Asia. This is commonly referred to as the Middle East and North African region (MENA). In order to more accurately describe the peoples and regions included in this population, this population will henceforth be referred to as MENASWA (Fallah, 2017).
There is no standardized map that defines MENASWA. However, the following countries/ethnic groups have been included in this population: Afghanistan, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Djibouti, Egypt, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kurdistan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, The United Arab Emirates, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine (The West Bank and Gaza Strip), Israel, Qatar, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Yemen (World Bank, 2016). This designation is based on the World Bank (2016) definition of Middle East, North Africa, and Southwest Asia regions.