Center for Child & Family Policy | Duke University

Clara G. Muschkin

Associate Research Professor of Public Policy; Director, Child Policy Research Certificate Program; Faculty Director, North Carolina Education Research Data Center and Faculty Affiliate, Center for Child and Family Policy

Clara Muschkin is an associate research professor of public policy at Duke University. She directs the Child Policy Research Certificate Program and is the faculty director of the North Carolina Education Research Data Center, both at the Center for Child and Family Policy.

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 early childhood education policies on subsequent student outcomes; the impact of grade configuration on student behavior; the influence of grade retention and age on behavior and academic performance; impact of school composition by race and immigrant status on student behavior and achievement across grade levels; evaluation of high school reform policies; and successful outcomes for community college students.

Research Interests:
Education, Public Policy, Early Childhood, Peer Influence, Poverty and Inequality

Education:

• Ph.D. Duke University - 1989
• A.B. College of William and Mary - 1977

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

1. Muschkin, C; Ladd, H; Sauval, M (2024). Pre-K Enrollments and Teaching Environments in North Carolina Elementary Schools.. Children and youth services review, 164, 107832. [doi]  [abs]


2. Watts, TW; Jenkins, JM; Dodge, KA; Carr, RC; Sauval, M; Bai, Y; Escueta, M; Duer, J; Ladd, H; Muschkin, C; Peisner-Feinberg, E; Ananat, E (2023). Understanding Heterogeneity in the Impact of Public Preschool Programs.. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 88(1), 7-182. [doi]  [abs]


3. Bai, Y; Ladd, HF; Muschkin, CG; Dodge, KA (2020). Long-term effects of early childhood programs through eighth grade: Do the effects fade out or grow?. Children and youth services review, 112, 104890. [doi]  [abs]


4. Muschkin, CG; Ladd, HF; Dodge, KA; Bai, Y (2020). Gender Differences in the Impact of North Carolina’s Early Care and Education Initiatives on Student Outcomes in Elementary School. Educational Policy, 34(2), 377-407. [doi]  [abs]


5. Dodge, KA; Bai, Y; Ladd, HF; Muschkin, CG (2016). Impact of North Carolina's Early Childhood Programs and Policies on Educational Outcomes in Elementary School. Child Dev, 88(3), n/a-n/a. [doi]  [abs]