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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.

A House Divided: The AFRB and China’s Subnational Diplomacy in Australia
Salvatore BabonesNovember 12, 2020AP17

This paper examines China’s subnational diplomacy in Australia and the suitability of Australia’s Foreign Relations...

Parents’ perspectives on home-based learning in the covid-19 pandemic
Glenn Fahey, Blaise JosephSeptember 30, 2020AP15

School closures during the covid-19 pandemic temporarily shifted schooling from the classroom to the home....

Pain without gain: Why school closures are bad policy
Blaise Joseph, Glenn FaheyMay 24, 2020PP28

The decision by state and territory governments to strongly advise parents to keep their children...

Australia’s Export Exposure to China’s Coronavirus Epidemic
Salvatore BabonesFebruary 18, 2020AP7

This paper estimates the direct and immediate effects of the coronavirus epidemic on the revenues...

What Do Parents Want From Schools?
Glenn FaheyNovember 20, 2019PP26

Educational freedom and proper use of resources are both crucial in producing the best outcomes...

What Do Parents Want? Australian childcare preferences and attitudes
Eugenie Joseph, Fiona MuellerSeptember 10, 2019PP22

Many Australian families rely on formal and informal childcare to enable them to take on...

Reading wars rage on
Glenn FaheySeptember 24, 2020Ideas@theCentre

Despite decades of bruising battles, the reading wars rage on — with a new review...

Wrestling the writing decline key to education improvement
Glenn FaheySeptember 20, 2020Canberra Times

The dire state of Australian students’ writing is perhaps the worst-kept secret of our education...

ASX no solution to education
Fiona MuellerSeptember 17, 2020Ideas@theCentre

Could there be a more depressing statement about parents’ confidence in Australian schooling than a...

Our schools already let too many children down before this year of disruption. Where to from here?
Fiona MuellerSeptember 16, 2020Spectator

Could there be a more depressing statement about parents’ confidence in Australian schooling than a...

In defence of exams and the ATAR
Blaise JosephSeptember 14, 2020Financial Review

The pandemic has provided an excuse for some progressive education advocates to attempt another coup...

Professionalism to lift teaching status
Glenn FaheySeptember 10, 2020Ideas@theCentre

Lifting teaching’s status can be achieved through embracing — rather than obstructing — market-based reform....

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 Senate Education and Employment References Committee
Michael Wu October 22, 2025CIS

Despite good intentions, Australia’s Early Childhood Education and Care system has expanded well beyond its...

Submission to the Productivity Commission’s Interim Report on Building a Skilled and Adaptable Workforce
Trisha JhaSeptember 18, 2025

Submission at a glance 1. Achieving written curriculum quality is a necessary step for long-term...

Submission to the Independent Review of Education in Tasmania
Trisha JhaOctober 4, 2024

Introduction The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) is a leading independent public policy think tank...

Submission to the Inquiry into Literacy and Numeracy in ACT Public Schools
Trisha JhaFebruary 27, 2024

This submission does not directly seek to answer the 20 questions posted in the Consultation...

Submission to the Legislative Council Inquiry into the State Education System in Victoria
Trisha JhaOctober 4, 2023

Introduction The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) is a leading independent public policy think...

Submission to the NSW Curriculum Review Interim Report Consultations
Fiona MuellerDecember 1, 2019

The NSW Government commissioned a review of the state’s curriculum in September, 2018, to be...

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