Science Explorer Back to mapMap
Discussion
Topic · Sociology and Political Science

Critical Race Theory in Education

Critical Race Theory in Education is a research topic within Sociology and Political Science. Science Explorer counts 11k research works in it since 1950. 9.8% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the application of Critical Race Theory in the context of education research, focusing on topics such as racism, whiteness, cultural wealth, achievement gaps, and the experiences of students and teachers of color. It delves into the complexities of race, power dynamics, and systemic inequalities within educational institutions.

  • Critical Race Theory
  • Education
  • Racism
  • Whiteness
  • Cultural Wealth
  • Achievement Gap
  • Latino Critical Theory
  • Racial Inequality
  • Teacher Education
  • Intersectionality
Research works
11k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
1.1k
per year above
Top-10% rate
9.8%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+28%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
United States
78% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Critical Race Theory in Education

Which countries lead Critical Race Theory in Education research?

By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (2.7k and 249 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 United States 2.7k works
  2. 2 United Kingdom 249 works
  3. 3 Canada 220 works
  4. 4 Australia 102 works
  5. 5 South Africa 45 works
  6. 6 Germany 38 works
  7. 7 Netherlands 26 works
  8. 8 China 25 works
  9. 9 Brazil 21 works
  10. 10 India 21 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

United States: 78.1%United Kingdom: 7.3%Canada: 6.5%Australia: 3.0%6 others listed: 5.2%78%largest
United States2,661 · 78.1%United Kingdom249 · 7.3%Canada220 · 6.5%Australia102 · 3.0%6 others listed176 · 5.2%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Critical Race Theory in Education research?

By volume in 2022-now, City University of New York publishes the most Critical Race Theory in Education research, followed by Georgia State University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 City University of New YorkUnited States 40 works
  2. 2 Georgia State UniversityUnited States 33 works
  3. 3 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 33 works
  4. 4 Arizona State UniversityUnited States 32 works
  5. 5 Pennsylvania State UniversityUnited States 31 works
  6. 6 University of TorontoCanada 30 works
  7. 7 University of Wisconsin–MadisonUnited States 30 works
  8. 8 The Ohio State UniversityUnited States 29 works
  9. 9 The University of Texas at AustinUnited States 29 works
  10. 10 Michigan State UniversityUnited States 27 works

Who are the leading researchers in Critical Race Theory in Education?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Critical Race Theory in Education include Stephen M. Gibson, Yvonna S. Lincoln and Norman K. Denzin.

  1. 1 Stephen M. Gibson France 182k citations
  2. 2 Yvonna S. Lincoln United States 148k citations
  3. 3 Norman K. Denzin United States 130k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Critical Race Theory in Education?

The most cited paper in Critical Race Theory in Education is "1. Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy" (Gloria J Ladson-Billings, 1995), with 7,973 citations. Next come "Critical Race Methodology: Counter-Storytelling as an Analytical Framework for Education Research" (4,169) and "Decolonization is not a metaphor" (4,103).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 1. Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Gloria J Ladson-Billings · American Educational Research Journal Sep 1995 7,973
2 Critical Race Methodology: Counter-Storytelling as an Analytical Framework for Education Research Daniel G. Solórzano, Tara J. Yosso · Qualitative Inquiry Feb 2002 4,169
3 Decolonization is not a metaphor Eve Tuck, K. Wayne Yang · TSpace (University of Toronto) Open access 8 Sep 2012 4,103
4 The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People's Children Lisa D. Delpit · Harvard Educational Review Sep 1988 2,965
5 Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black Melba Wilson, Bell Hooks · Feminist Review 1989 2,649
All 100 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Critical Race Theory in Education research done?

The largest centres of Critical Race Theory in Education research in 2022-now are New York (United States), Los Angeles (United States), Toronto (Canada) and Chicago (United States).

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 New YorkUnited States 107 works
  2. 2 Los AngelesUnited States 69 works
  3. 3 TorontoCanada 64 works
  4. 4 ChicagoUnited States 64 works
  5. 5 LondonUnited Kingdom 61 works
  6. 6 AtlantaUnited States 53 works
  7. 7 Washington D.C.United States 51 works
  8. 8 BostonUnited States 42 works
  9. 9 Chapel HillUnited States 33 works
  10. 10 MadisonUnited States 33 works
See Critical Race Theory in Education on the map

Where is the best place to study Critical Race Theory in Education?

Among universities, judged by research, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of Wisconsin–Madison score highest, combining citation excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%10%20%mean 13.99%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Michigan State Unive…University of Califo…University of Illino…University of Wiscon…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Citation excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1University of California, Los AngelesUnited States 69.716.0%7.6×27 +19.9%
2University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignUnited States 63.814.7%9.9×26 +22.5%
3University of Wisconsin–MadisonUnited States 63.510.8%10.7×30 +58.7%
4Michigan State UniversityUnited States 62.918.8%12.1×27 -8.5%
5Pennsylvania State UniversityUnited States 62.614.6%9.2×31 +48.4%
6Rutgers, The State University of New JerseyUnited States 62.616.0%8.9×21 +118.0%
7University of WashingtonUnited States 61.912.8%6.9×24 +33.9%
8Arizona State UniversityUnited States 61.88.7%16.0×32 +26.2%
9Stanford UniversityUnited States 60.914.9%4.0×18 +41.3%
10University of MichiganUnited States 60.412.6%5.4×26 +19.4%

Universities only. The score blends citation excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Critical Race Theory in Education, country by country

Is Critical Race Theory in Education research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 28% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Critical Race Theory in Education.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Critical Race Theory in Education as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.014% in 2024.

still counting0.010%0.020%Critical Race Theory in Education0.015% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Critical Race Theory in Education over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Critical Race Theory in Education9.7% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

Discussion

Ask a question or share a note about Critical Race Theory in Education. Keep it to the research: no personal attacks, advertising or links. Any reader can report a post, which collapses it for everyone until it is opened.