His research focuses on the ideological contexts that shape teachers’ work and on the processes of ideological change in teachers as they make sense of the purpose and nature of their work within a stratified society. His scholarship, which leverages theoretical and methodological approaches from the learning sciences to explore issues in ideology, particularly racial ideology, has appeared in journals such as Cognition and Instruction, Journal of Teacher Education, Urban Education, and Race, Ethnicity and Education. Thomas received the National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2010.