'Race is race ain't': An exploration of the utility of critical race theory in qualitative research in education

Abstract

Critical race theory (CRT) has garnered increasing attention from various circles and disciplines as an emerging perspective in jurisprudence scholarship addressing race. CRT scholarship encompasses and borrows from a myriad set of sociopolitical and philosophical critiques that challenge the objective reality of the law and of legal doctrine and interpretation. CRT scholars have argued that racism is an endemic part of U.S. social relations and this racism has shaped the laws and policies of U.S. institutions.Recently, scholars in education have started to explore the utility of CRT and the ways theories about race can explain the social construction and operation of racism in educational institutions.This paper continues this inquiry by briefly illustrating how CRT can be used in the higher education affirmative action debate surrounding the Hopwood v . T exas decision (1996). Specifically,the presentationof definitive race-neutral legal interpretations of narratives vs. counterstories of race is discussed with summary attention paid to the implications for qualitative research on race and education.