people

Clara G. Muschkin

Assistant Research Professor of Public Policy; Associate Director of the Undergraduate Education Program; Director of the Children in Contemporary Society Certificate Program and the North Carolina Education Research Data Center

Clara Muschkin is an assistant research professor of public policy and serves as director for the North Carolina Education Research Data Center (NCERDC), located within the Center for Child and Family Policy. The mission of the NCERDC is to support and develop policy-oriented research on education, providing academic researchers with access to a wealth of data on North Carolina public schools, students, and teachers. Muschkin is a sociologist and demographer with an interdisciplinary research focus. In her research, she asks how education policies that influence the composition and organization of educational institutions can influence student behavior and academic performance. Her current research interests include: the impact of grade configuration on student behavior; the influence of retained and old-for-grade students on the behavior of grade peers; the effects of composition of district and school on race differences in student behavior and achievement across grade levels; variations in student behavior related to high school track placement; educational trajectories of youth involved in the criminal justice system; and educational outcomes among immigrant youth. Muschkin serves as Director for the Children in Contemporary Society Certificate program, and regularly teaches the cornerstone course. She also serves as Director of Undergraduate Programs in the Center for Child and Family Policy.

Education:

• Ph.D. Duke University - 1989
• B.A. College of William and Mary - 1978

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

1. C.G. Muschkin, A.N. Beck (Submitted, 2011). . The Enduring Impact of Race: Understanding Disparities in Behavior and Achievement. Social Problems.


2. C.G. Muschkin "Research Brief: Variations in School Suspension by District, North Carolina.."  2011


3. H.F. Ladd & C.G. Muschkin (Ed.). (2009). . Research access to state education administrative data: the North Carolina Education Research Data Center.


4. Muschkin, C.G., E.J. Glennie, and A.N. Beck (Submitted, (forthcoming)). Effects of School Peers on Student Behavior: Age, Grade Retention, and Disciplinary Infractions in Middle School.


5. Cook, P., R. MacCoun, C.G. Muschkin and J. Vigdor (2008). The Negative Impact of Starting Middle School in Sixth Grade. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 27(1), 104-121.

1. Introduction to a Major K-12 Statewide Data Set for Longitudinal Research, Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, College of Education, North Carolina State University, November 4, 2009

1. Overview of School Suspension in North Carolina. Presented as part of the 2010 North Carolina Family Impact Seminar: School Suspension in North Carolina: Research and Policy Options, April 27 at the North Carolina legislature., Legislative Auditorium, Raleigh, N.C., April 27, 2010

1. From Birth to School: Early Childhood Programs and Third Grade Outcomes in North Carolina, APPAM, Washington, DC, November, 2011
2. Success in Community College: Do Institutions Differ?, APPAM, Washington, DC, November, 2011
3. Easing the Transition to High School: Effects of a Freshman Academy on Student Success, American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April, 2011