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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.

Who needs four uni degrees or even one for that matter?
November 29, 2011Crikey

I expect Tony Abbott will be panned for his statement yesterday that only the "right"...

Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
Helen Hughes, Sara HudsonNovember 18, 2011

Australia has a serious problem in low participation in higher education by students from low...

Individualism does not mean being self-centred
Sara HudsonNovember 4, 2011

The following quote from the National Aboriginal Health Strategy published in 1989 suggests that Western...

Focus on the children
Jennifer Buckingham OAMOctober 28, 2011

School funding in Australia is plagued by inconsistencies and divisiveness. The majority of public funding...

School Funding, Choice and Equity
Jennifer Buckingham OAMOctober 26, 2011IA126

School funding is plagued by inconsistencies and divisiveness. Its complexity has led to widespread misinformation...

Thirst for knowledge
Peter KurtiOctober 21, 2011

Rising levels of school retention rates have contributed to record enrolments for this year’s HSC...

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...

Why stop at ending HECS-HELP for failing students? Give the universities some skin in the game
Steven SchwartzAugust 16, 2020Spectator

Some students have accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars in student debt without obtaining a...

Give low-income parents a school choice
Glenn Fahey, Blaise JosephAugust 13, 2020Ideas@theCentre

We have to stop using private schools as a scapegoat for everything wrong with Australian...

Give low-income parents a school choice: that’s the key to equity
Glenn Fahey, Blaise JosephAugust 13, 2020Sydney Morning Herald

We have to stop using private schools as a scapegoat for everything wrong with Australian...

Why drop the ball on our key indigenous targets?
Nyunggai Warren Mundine AOJuly 15, 2020The Australian

The COVID-19 pandemic — and government responses to it — has halted large sections of...

NSW curriculum review is a fail
Blaise JosephJuly 3, 2020Ideas@theCentre

Despite the Berejiklian government’s ‘back to basics’ rhetoric, the NSW curriculum review is proposing a...

From pandemic to clever country
Glenn FaheyJune 25, 2020Ideas@theCentre

After much angst, school students have belatedly returned to the nation’s classrooms. But recovery from...

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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