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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. 41.2% 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%
4.5k
per year above
Top-10% rate
41.2%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
+74%
the tick is no change

Which countries lead Critical Race Theory in Education research?

By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (2.3k and 220 works in 2022–2025).

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 United States 2.3k works
  2. 2 United Kingdom 220 works
  3. 3 Canada 194 works
  4. 4 Australia 93 works
  5. 5 South Africa 40 works
  6. 6 Germany 35 works
  7. 7 Netherlands 22 works
  8. 8 Brazil 18 works
  9. 9 India 17 works
  10. 10 China 15 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: 78.0%United Kingdom: 7.4%Canada: 6.5%Australia: 3.1%6 others listed: 5.0%78%largest
United States2,316 · 78.0%United Kingdom220 · 7.4%Canada194 · 6.5%Australia93 · 3.1%6 others listed147 · 5.0%

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

Which institutions lead Critical Race Theory in Education research?

By volume in 2022–2025, Georgia State University publishes the most Critical Race Theory in Education research, followed by Arizona State University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

By volume, 2022–2025

  1. 1 Georgia State UniversityUnited States 32 works
  2. 2 Arizona State UniversityUnited States 30 works
  3. 3 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 30 works
  4. 4 Pennsylvania State UniversityUnited States 28 works
  5. 5 University of Wisconsin–MadisonUnited States 28 works
  6. 6 University of TorontoCanada 26 works
  7. 7 The Ohio State UniversityUnited States 24 works
  8. 8 University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignUnited States 24 works
  9. 9 The University of Texas at AustinUnited States 24 works
  10. 10 Michigan State UniversityUnited States 23 works

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

The most-cited researchers publishing on Critical Race Theory in Education include Gill Crozier, Gloria Ladson‐Billings and Michael W. Apple.

  1. 1 Gill Crozier United Kingdom 4.8k citations
  2. 2 Gloria Ladson‐Billings United States 1.8k citations
  3. 3 Michael W. Apple United States 1.2k citations

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

Where is Critical Race Theory in Education research done?

The largest centres of Critical Race Theory in Education research in 2022–2025 are New York (United States), Los Angeles (United States), Toronto (Canada) and London (United Kingdom).

Largest cities, 2022–2025

  1. 1 New York United States 91 works
  2. 2 Los Angeles United States 61 works
  3. 3 Toronto Canada 59 works
  4. 4 London United Kingdom 56 works
  5. 5 Chicago United States 53 works
  6. 6 Atlanta United States 49 works
  7. 7 Washington D.C. United States 43 works
  8. 8 Boston United States 37 works
  9. 9 Madison United States 30 works
  10. 10 Chapel Hill United States 30 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, Michigan State University, University of California, Los Angeles and University of Wisconsin–Madison score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%25%50%mean 45.81%fractional works in this node (log) →share in the world top 10% →Michigan State University: 23, 49.4%University of California, Los Angeles: 23, 58.2%University of Wisconsin–Madison: 28, 43.2%Arizona State University: 30, 35.3%University of Illinois Chicago: 16, 47.3%University of California, Riverside: 13, 42.8%University of Colorado Boulder: 12, 44.3%Pennsylvania State University: 28, 36.1%San Diego State University: 12, 44.4%Vanderbilt University: 11, 57.1%University of Califo…Michigan State Unive…University of Wiscon…Arizona State Univer…
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1 Michigan State UniversityUnited States 77.849.4%10.8×23 +139.9%
2 University of California, Los AngelesUnited States 71.758.2%8.3×23 +33.4%
3 University of Wisconsin–MadisonUnited States 70.943.2%10.0×28 +71.3%
4 Arizona State UniversityUnited States 70.335.3%15.0×30 +117.3%
5 University of Illinois ChicagoUnited States 68.747.3%10.4×16 +116.6%
6 University of California, RiversideUnited States 68.542.8%14.7×13 +235.5%
7 University of Colorado BoulderUnited States 65.944.3%10.9×12 +148.2%
8 Pennsylvania State UniversityUnited States 65.636.1%9.8×28 +56.3%
9 San Diego State UniversityUnited States 65.544.4%24.7×12 +160.0%
10 Vanderbilt UniversityUnited States 64.657.1%9.3×11 +80.3%

Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.

Is Critical Race Theory in Education research growing?

Output in 2018–2022 was 74% higher than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Critical Race Theory in Education.

19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

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

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.