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• Education

Quality school education is vital for individual potential and a healthy society. All children should have access to an education that is responsive to their needs as well as upholding high academic standards. CIS’s research focus is on policies that improve the quality of teaching and student outcomes.

Funding system is broken
August 28, 2006The Age

The annual release of the Good Universities Guide, with its estimates of how much each...

Report into literacy and numeracy too narrow
August 8, 2006The Canberra Times

Late last month, in his address to Reconciliation Australia, Prime Minister John Howard said education...

Choice is best for curriculum
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJuly 31, 2006The Age

School curricula and the standards of students seem to be constantly under fire, with discussion...

School Autonomy: A Key Reform for Improving Indigenous Education
Julie NovakJune 21, 2006IA72

The marked educational under-achievement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in remote area communities...

Showcasing Unis when price is right
April 24, 2006The Age

Many critics of universities complain that commerce is put ahead of education. To them, generalist...

HELPless: How the FEE-HELP Loans System Lets Students Down and How to Fix it
Andrew NortonFebruary 27, 2006IA68

Australia pioneered repaying student loans through the tax system, the HECS scheme. In 2005, HECS...

Childcare in Australia: A new approach
Gigi FosterNovember 20, 2025RR51

Executive summary Several well-known bodies, from the Productivity Commission to the Australian Competition and Consumer...

Knowledge is power: What do teachers believe about learning?
Trisha JhaOctober 30, 2025AP92

Executive Summary This report presents findings from literature about what teachers believe about how students...

Sex and maths success: myths and interventions
David C. GearyJuly 17, 2025AP83

Executive summary Mathematical competencies at the completion of secondary school influence later educational and occupational...

Early Numbers, Big Ideas. Fostering Number Sense in Young Children
Nancy C. Jordan, Nancy DysonJuly 10, 2025AP82

Introduction Numbers are an integral part of our daily lives, both inside and outside of...

Fractions Minus the Friction. A guide to four teaching practices
Leanne R. Ketterlin-Geller, Allison McClure, Cassandra HatfieldDecember 12, 2024AP78

Introduction Understanding fractions has a significant impact on both individuals and society. Fractions are an...

The Argument For Debate: how school debating can improve academic outcomes and foster a stronger democracy
Deidre Clary, Fiona MuellerDecember 5, 2024AP77

Introduction The Education Goals for Young Australians prioritise “excellence and equity” and the formation of...

Teach in classroom
Discipline not a dirty word in a child’s education
Katharine BirbalsinghOctober 17, 2022THE AUSTRALIAN

It should go without saying that for students to have the best chance of learning,...

classroom
Discipline is the missing part of the school jigsaw
Glenn FaheyOctober 5, 2022DAILY TELEGRAPH

There’s no denying that Australian schools have a behaviour problem, but it could be turned...

education
How to solve Australia’s puzzling education conundrum
Simon Cowan, Glenn FaheySeptember 24, 2022CANBERRA TIMES

Although it’s hard to get too excited by yet another review, there is potential for...

Truancy
Truancy is a scandal, but don’t blame the kids
Glenn FaheySeptember 22, 2022AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

It may not shock you to learn that regular school attendance is crucial to students’...

Student debt
There’s a lesson to be learnt in robbing Peter to pay Paul
Steven SchwartzSeptember 3, 2022THE AUSTRALIAN

A nanosecond after US President Joe Biden announced the partial cancellation of student loans, a...

TEACHING CRISIS
Are we really in a so-called teaching crisis?
Simon Cowan, Glenn FaheyAugust 13, 2022CANBERRA TIMES

No doubt you’ve heard stories by claiming we’ve got a massive shortage of teachers right...

Behind Every Great Teacher Is a Great System | David Didau, Jenny Donovan & Trisha Jha
Trisha Jha, David Didau, Jenny DonovanMarch 20, 2026

David Didau — education consultant, teacher trainer, and author of Making Kids Cleverer and Intelligent...

Education Reform That Works: Insights from UK, New Zealand & Australia
Glenn Fahey, Nick Gibb, Jason Clare MPDecember 8, 2025

Three leading education ministers — Sir Nick Gibb (UK), Erica Stanford (New Zealand), and Jason...

What do teachers believe about learning? | Trisha Jha
Trisha JhaNovember 6, 2025

This report presents findings from literature about what teachers believe about how students learn: the...

Restoring Excellence in Australian Education | Senator Jonathon Duniam
Glenn FaheyOctober 3, 2025

At this Centre for Independent Studies forum, Shadow Federal Minister for Education Senator Jonathon Duniam...

Evidence vs Ideology: Why the Science of Learning Matters?
Doctor Carl Hendrick, Doctor Simon Breakspear, Glenn FaheyJune 26, 2025

As Australian student outcomes decline and education inequality persists, a growing movement is challenging the...

The science of learning will set students free | Glenn Fahey
Robert Forsyth, Glenn FaheyJune 13, 2025

Robert Forsyth interviews Glenn Fahey, director of the education program at the Centre for Independent...

Submission to NAPLAN Reporting Review 2019
Blaise Joseph, Jennifer Buckingham OAMMarch 18, 2019

NAPLAN is a key element of government transparency and accountability There is very little evidence...

Submission to the Senate Education and Employment Committee Inquiry into The Australian Education Amendment Bill 2017
Blaise JosephMay 24, 2017CIS Submission
Productivity Commission Inquiry Into Introducing Competition and Informed User Choice into Human Services: Submission in response to issues paper
Trisha JhaJuly 1, 2016CIS Submission

The Human Services Inquiry is ‘examining policy options in the human services sector that incorporate...

Productivity Commission Inquiry into the National Education Evidence Base: Submission in response to the draft report
Jennifer Buckingham OAMMay 1, 2016CIS Submission

The Review of Education Evidence (Draft Report)—the ‘Draft Report’—provides a useful, up-to-date overview of the...

Submission to the Parliament of NSW Standing Committee on State Development: Inquiry into economic development in Aboriginal communities
Sara HudsonFebruary 12, 2016CIS Submission

In seeking to improve Indigenous economic development outcomes it is important to recognise that high...

Submission to the National Commission of Audit
Alexander Philipatos, Jennifer Buckingham OAM, Jeremy Sammut, Robert Carling, Simon Cowan, Stephen Kirchner, Trisha JhaApril 1, 2014T30.08

The federal government’s Commission of Audit (CoA) was established in 2013 to review the performance...

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