Research Scientist

Clara Muschkin serves as interim director for the North Carolina Education Research Data Center (NCERDC), located within the Center for Child and Family Policy. The NCERDC has as its mission 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.

Dr. 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 composition of district, school, and student effects 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.

Dr. Muschkin is also the liaison between the Center for Child and Family Policy and the Duke University Institutional Review Board, and provides support to researchers on issues related to human subjects review.

Dr. Muschkin regularly teaches the cornerstone course for the Children in Contemporary Society Certificate.

Education:

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

Teaching Fall 2008:

• CCS 150.01, CHILDREN CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY Synopsis
  Rubenstein 149, TuTh 10:05 AM-11:20 AM