Daphna Bassok

Daphna Bassok is the Batten Bicentennial Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia, with a joint appointment in the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. She serves as associate director of EdPolicyWorks, a research center that bridges the two schools. Bassok also directs the Study of Early Education through Partnerships (SEE-Partnerships), collaborating closely with early childhood policymakers in Virginia and Louisiana to enhance early childhood education systems. Her research centers on early childhood education policy, particularly initiatives aimed at improving systems at scale and supporting the early childhood workforce. Currently, she leads a multi-year evaluation of Virginia’s Federal Preschool Development Grant Birth–5 initiative, which seeks to expand access to quality early education for vulnerable families. Bassok earned her BA in economics and history from the University of Michigan, an MA in economics and an MA in policy analysis and evaluation from Stanford University, and a PhD in economics of education from Stanford University.

updated 2025