Dr. Garrett Delavan, Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies

Prior to earning his doctorate, Delavan spent 17 years in public schooling, the first eight of which were spent at Horizonte Instruction and Training Center, a diverse, urban, alternative high school in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a social justice vision. There, he taught English as a Second Language and business information technology to both adults and high-school-age youth, and served two years as English as a Second Language coordinator. His last K-12 position was teaching Spanish I, Spanish II and Spanish for Native Speakers to middle schoolers.

Delavan’s research revolves around equitable educational access in language education. His view of educational access is ultimately about transformation of problems sometimes under-recognized as related to language learning, such as new forms of racism and classism embedded within the marketization trends in education. His work balances two aspects of equitable access: a.) language education planning that creates equitable access to program types, effective teaching practices and curriculum content; and b.) social justice and ecojustice curriculum connections that will allow language learners to access the empowering awareness it will take to transform society for the better.

In his free time Garret enjoys friendship, hearing live music, gardening, singing along with is guitar, drumming, hiking, running, cycling, and kayaking.