Despite the general recognition that critical thinking is one of the most important outcome of higher education (Barnett2003, Englund 2008), what critical thinking entails or should imply is itself contested (Pithers and Soden 2001, Sullivan and Rosin 2008, Turner, 2005). The aim of this paper is to create a map of different ways of defining and contextualizing critical thinking in scholarly discussion in teacher and nurse education. This is approached through an analysis of how the concept of critical thinking is elaborated in international peer-reviewed journals during 2005-2010. The paper examines the different frames of references presented in the different articles by looking at their main theoretical position, key terms used to define the boundaries of critical thinking and the normative stand taken towards the concept. One central question is to differentiate between understandings / interpretations of critical thinking and se how these can be related to different traditions of bildung, liberal education as well as vocational education.