<< Back to Faculty Daphna Bassok Associate Professor of Education and Public Policy Education & Training PhD, Economics of Education, Stanford University MA, Economics, Stanford University MA, Policy Analysis, Stanford University BA, Economics and History, University of Michigan 434-982-5415 dbassok@virginia.edu Olsson Hall, 238B Curriculum Vitae @daphnabassok Courses taught Evaluating the Effectiveness of Social Innovations Data Management for Analysis Causal Inference in Education Research Areas of focus Education UVA partners EdPolicyWorks: Center for Education Policy and Workforce Competitiveness Curry School of Education Daphna Bassok is an Assistant Professor of Education and Public Policy at the University of Virginia and is also the Associate Director of EdPolicyWorks a joint collaboration between the Curry School of Education and the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Her research addresses early childhood education policy, with a particular focus on the impacts of policy interventions on the well-being of low-income children. Currently, she is the Principal Investigator on a project supported by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) to examine Louisiana’s efforts to overhaul their early childhood education system. She recently received a National Academy of Education/ Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship for her work examining changes in parenting practices over time and their impact on the early emergence of achievement gaps. Other recent projects have explored changes in the early childhood teacher labor force over time and the impacts of Florida’s Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program. Bassok holds a Ph.D. in the Economics of Education, a M.A. in Economics and a M.A. in Policy Analysis and Evaluation, all from Stanford University. Measuring the Quality of Teacher-Child Interactions at Scale: The Implications of Using Local Practitioners to Conduct Classroom Observations Research Batten Faculty Dominate the University's New Public Service Awards Program News UVA’s Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost created a new awards program to commend faculty for the contributions their public service makes to student learning, the advancement of scholarship and creative activity, and the University’s own public mission. Are Parents’ Ratings and Satisfaction with Preschools related to Program Features? Research This study examines whether parents’ overall satisfaction with their child’s early childhood education (ECE) program is correlated with a broad set of program characteristics, including (a) observational assessments of teacher-child interactions; (b) structural features of the program, such as teacher education and class size; (c) practical and convenience factors (e.g., hours, cost); and (d) a measure of average classroom learning gains. It then describes associations between parents’ evaluation of specific program characteristics and externally collected measures of those features. Within-and Between-Sector Quality Differences in Early Childhood Education and Care Research This study leverages nationally representative data (N ≈ 6,000) to examine the magnitude of quality differences between (a) formal and informal early childhood education and care providers; (b) Head Start, prekindergarten, and other center-based care; and (c) programs serving toddlers and those serving preschoolers. It then documents differences in children’s reading and math skills at age 5 between those who had enrolled in formal and informal settings. The Effects of Universal State Pre-Kindergarten on the Child Care Sector: The Case of Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten Program Research Over the past two decades states have drastically increased their investments in pre-kindergarten programs. One major question about state investments in early childhood education programs is to what extent these initiatives create new child care options rather than crowd-out existing private child care options. View All
Measuring the Quality of Teacher-Child Interactions at Scale: The Implications of Using Local Practitioners to Conduct Classroom Observations Research
Batten Faculty Dominate the University's New Public Service Awards Program News UVA’s Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost created a new awards program to commend faculty for the contributions their public service makes to student learning, the advancement of scholarship and creative activity, and the University’s own public mission.
Are Parents’ Ratings and Satisfaction with Preschools related to Program Features? Research This study examines whether parents’ overall satisfaction with their child’s early childhood education (ECE) program is correlated with a broad set of program characteristics, including (a) observational assessments of teacher-child interactions; (b) structural features of the program, such as teacher education and class size; (c) practical and convenience factors (e.g., hours, cost); and (d) a measure of average classroom learning gains. It then describes associations between parents’ evaluation of specific program characteristics and externally collected measures of those features.
Within-and Between-Sector Quality Differences in Early Childhood Education and Care Research This study leverages nationally representative data (N ≈ 6,000) to examine the magnitude of quality differences between (a) formal and informal early childhood education and care providers; (b) Head Start, prekindergarten, and other center-based care; and (c) programs serving toddlers and those serving preschoolers. It then documents differences in children’s reading and math skills at age 5 between those who had enrolled in formal and informal settings.
The Effects of Universal State Pre-Kindergarten on the Child Care Sector: The Case of Florida’s Voluntary Prekindergarten Program Research Over the past two decades states have drastically increased their investments in pre-kindergarten programs. One major question about state investments in early childhood education programs is to what extent these initiatives create new child care options rather than crowd-out existing private child care options.
