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Clara G. Muschkin, Associate Research Professor Emerita  

Office Location: 117 Sanford Building, Box 90245, Durham, NC 27708
Duke Box: 92000
Email Address: muschkin@duke.edu

Areas of Expertise

  • Education
    • Achievement
    • Others

      Demographic composition of schools
      Student behavior

Education:
Ph.D., Duke University, 1989
A.B., College of William and Mary, 1977

Research Description: Clara 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. Muschkin is Director of the North Carolina Education Research Data Center, and Director of the Child Policy Research Certificate program. She also serves as Associate Director for Undergraduate Education in the Center for Child and Family Policy.

Recent Publications   (More Publications)

  1. 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. "Understanding Heterogeneity in the Impact of Public Preschool Programs.." Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 88.1 (June, 2023): 7-182. [doi]  [abs]
  2. Bai, Y; Ladd, HF; Muschkin, CG; Dodge, KA. "Long-term effects of early childhood programs through eighth grade: Do the effects fade out or grow?." Children and youth services review 112 (May, 2020): 104890. [doi]  [abs]
  3. Muschkin, CG; Ladd, HF; Dodge, KA; Bai, Y. "Gender Differences in the Impact of North Carolina’s Early Care and Education Initiatives on Student Outcomes in Elementary School." Educational Policy 34.2 (March, 2020): 377-407. [doi]  [abs]
  4. Dodge, KA; Bai, Y; Ladd, HF; Muschkin, CG. "Impact of North Carolina's Early Childhood Programs and Policies on Educational Outcomes in Elementary School." Child Dev 88.3 (November, 2016): n/a-n/a. [doi]  [abs]
  5. Muschkin, CG; Ladd, HF; Dodge, KA. "Impact of North Carolina’s Early Childhood Initiatives on Special Education Placements in Third Grade." Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 37.4 (December, 2015): 478-500. [doi]  [abs]

Highlight:

Clara Muschkin is an associate research professor emerita of public policy at Duke University and an affiliate of the Center for Child and Family Policy.  She directed the Child Policy Research Certificate Program and was the faculty director for the North Carolina Education Research Data Center (NCERDC).

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 and social policy
  • Academic performance and student behavior
  • Public Policy
  • Early Childhood education
  • Peer Influence in schools
  • Poverty and Inequality

Bio/Profile
Clara Muschkin is an assistant research professor of public policy, Associate Director of the Center for Child and Family Policy, and Director of 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 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. Muschkin serves as Director for the Child Policy Research certificate program and regularly teaches the cornerstone course. She also serves as oversees undergraduate programs in the Center for Child and Family Policy.

Clara G. Muschkin