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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.

Thirst for knowledge
Peter KurtiOctober 21, 2011

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

Fees disorientation
Adam CreightonOctober 14, 2011

The Howard government’s abolition of compulsory student unionism was a victory for fairness and efficiency....

Degrees of difference
Sara HudsonAugust 22, 2011Online Opinion

Recently I wrote about the separate Census form used for discrete Indigenous communities suggesting that...

Census apartheid: separate form separates a community
Sara HudsonAugust 10, 2011The Drum

The use of a separate Census form for some discrete Indigenous communities is not only...

A confident secularist society would tolerate school religion
Brendan O'NeillJuly 28, 2011The Sydney Morning Herald

Can a half-hour chat about God really warp children's minds? Listening to Australia's increasingly irate...

Artful dodges
July 26, 2011The Age

The ripples of Britain's fiscal crisis reached Melbourne last month, in a seminar on the...

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...

Our school standards are poor enough already, but what if children can’t access online learning?
Fiona MuellerMarch 30, 2020Spectator

For millions of young Australians, it’s homeschooling from now on. As well as getting their...

All quiet on the education leadership front
Fiona MuellerMarch 29, 2020Canberra Times

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other leaders rightly point to the risks facing the educational...

Pathways to mediocrity
Monica WilkieMarch 12, 2020IDEAS@THECENTRE

Merit is under attack – again. The University of Technology Sydney now offers 10 bonus...

Here we Gonski again
Blaise JosephMarch 5, 2020IDEAS@THECENTRE

Australian education is still paying the price of bad, expensive ideas from previous reviews. Let’s...

Education policy rolls dice
Fiona MuellerFebruary 27, 2020IDEAS@THECENTRE

“Both today and 20 years from now, I want Australians to be in control of...

Forget dumbing down of schools. What about dumbing down of teachers?
Mitchell ThomasFebruary 25, 2020Spectator

As students returned to school over the past few weeks, a new crop of graduate...

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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