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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.

Religion and education
Jennifer Buckingham OAMSeptember 17, 2010

Religious schools have been a major feature of the educational landscape in Australia since British...

The Rise of Religious Schools in Australia
Jennifer Buckingham OAMSeptember 16, 2010PM111

More than 1.1 million students (out of a total student population of 3.4 million) attend...

Graduates can afford to top up funding
September 8, 2010The Australian

The new government faces the same old problem: too many demands, too little money. In...

In search of that last small step
August 31, 2010The Age

Tens of thousands of Victorians will soon submit applications for university places in 2011. They...

Putting a case for fee deregulation
August 25, 2010The Australian

IF education ministers can be judged by the average number of policy initiatives per year,...

Overcoming poverty of ambition
July 16, 2010

Sometimes studying social policy can be thoroughly depressing. There’s child abuse. There’s domestic violence. There...

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...

If we catch them young, kids will solve our numeracy crisis
Glenn FaheyOctober 23, 2025SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
How do we fix the alarming decline in numeracy among young Australians? The answer is...
Clare’s new education body offers a real chance for reform
Glenn FaheySeptember 10, 2025THE AUSTRALIAN
Canberra’s bold plan to revolutionise education oversight faces a stark choice: become a game-changer or...
Unis must be run like a business, whether academics like it or not
Steven SchwartzSeptember 9, 2025AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Staff unions are mobilising, newspapers are lamenting, and politicians are hand-wringing, but the arithmetic is...
Benchmarked into oblivion
Steven SchwartzJuly 31, 2025SPECTATOR FLAT WHITE
NAPLAN is not so much a mirror as a house of mirrors....
We need better returns on education investment
Trisha Jha, Glenn FaheyJuly 30, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH
Billions of dollars have been poured into school funding in the state over the past...
School child reading book
Education Minister Jason Clare must ensure new schools pact benefits nation
Glenn FaheyJuly 30, 2025THE AUSTRALIAN
The latest NAPLAN results confirm the sobering truth that our school system continues to underdeliver...
The Manchurian Campus? Threats to Free Speech in Higher Education
Rob Stokes, Tom SwitzerOctober 22, 2018

Amidst the debate about Chinese influence in Australia, NSW Minister for Education, the Hon. Rob...

Have We All Gone Mad? The Snowflake Epidemic
Tiffany Jenkins, Steven Schwartz, Lindsay Shepherd, Claire LehmannAugust 17, 2018

University campuses throughout the West are in the grip of a troubling social phenomenon, now...

What’s happened to the University?
Frank Furedi, Marguerite Johnson, Steven SchwartzOctober 6, 2017

Trigger warnings, cultural appropriation and safe spaces. Who decided to bestow guardian status to Australian...

Taking control of the classroom: How teachers and principals can improve behaviour in schools
Tom Bennett, Sue O’Neill, Kylie HedgerJuly 20, 2017

Poor behaviour in schools is a significant factor undermining student achievement. International data suggests behaviour...

How to Improve Australian Phonics and Literacy
Nick GibbApril 20, 2017

England’s schools have undergone substantial changes in the last decade, including: introducing systematic phonics teaching...

Phonics and Literacy
Rob StokesApril 20, 2017

England’s schools have undergone substantial changes in the last decade, including: introducing systematic phonics teaching...

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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