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Associate Professor of Public Policy and Education, Vanderbilt University

Claire Smrekar is associate professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt University. Smrekar earned her doctorate in Education Policy at Stanford University in 1991. She conducts qualitative research studies related to the social context of education and public policy, with specific focus on the impact of desegregation plans and choice policies on families, schools, and neighborhoods. She is currently studying the effects of private school markets and demographic trends on school voucher plans. Professor Smrekar’s work has been funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the Danforth Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the W.T. Grant Foundation, and Peabody College.

Smrekar is the author of numerous journal articles, book chapters, and reports. She is the author of three books: "The Impact of School Choice and Community: In the Interest of Families and Schools (1996)," State University of New York (SUNY) Press; "School Choice in Urban America: Magnet Schools and the Pursuit of Equity" (1999), Teachers College Press; and "From the Courtroom to the Classroom: The Shifting Landscape of School Desegregation" (2009), Harvard Education Press.

Smrekar's research interests include the social context of education and the social organization of schools, with specific reference to family-school-community interactions in public, military-sponsored, non-public, and choice schools.

Experience

  • –present
    Associate Professor, Dept. of Leadership, Policy & Organizations, Vanderbilt University