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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.

Furore over private-school fees is just a distraction
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJanuary 20, 2007The Australian Financial Review

A couple of times each year, there is a lot of fuss about increases in...

Let the schools choose which accredited curriculum to teach
Jennifer Buckingham OAMOctober 30, 2006The Canberra Times

The idea of a national curriculum has been on the federal government agenda for several...

Keep the faith in education
Jennifer Buckingham OAMOctober 6, 2006The Courier Mail

In the world of education, certain words have image problems. One of the words most...

Lessons that everyone can profit from
Jennifer Buckingham OAMSeptember 25, 2006The Australian Financial Review

In the world of education, certain words have image problems. One of the words most...

Setting readers to rights
August 31, 2006The Australian

In 1997, federal, state and territory education ministers agreed that “every child commencing school from...

Tackling Literacy in Remote Aboriginal Communities
Kirsten StorryAugust 31, 2006IA73

There is an alarming educational gap facing remote Aboriginal communities. The gap in literacy between...

State of the Nation 2001: A Century of Change (CD ROM)
Jennifer Buckingham OAMApril 5, 2001SP04CD

A CD version of a major report that finds Australia is in the midst of profound...

State of the Nation 2001: A Century of Change
Jennifer Buckingham OAM, Lucy Sullivan, Helen HughesApril 5, 2001SP04

The first edition of State of the Nation in 1997 showed in graphs and statistics,...

School Funding for All: Making Sense of the Debate over Dollars
Jennifer Buckingham OAMOctober 12, 2000IA17

Public debate over school funding is characterised by misinformation and misunderstanding. Any sort of agreement...

Code of Silence: Public Reporting of School Performance
Alison RichOctober 4, 2000IA16

Australians are being left in the dark when it comes to public school performance. The...

The Truth about Private Schools in Australia
Jennifer Buckingham OAMAugust 1, 2000IA13

Private schools in Australia consistently outperform public schools not due to better financial resources or...

Degrees of Difficulty: The Labour Market Problems of Arts and Social Science Graduates
Andrew NortonJuly 19, 2000IA12

That the Australian higher education system is comprehensively rigged against students is evident from the...

The 3 intergenerational challenges Chalmers’ roundtable must fix
Trisha JhaJuly 18, 2025AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
The government’s upcoming Productivity Roundtable risks being yet another fest of short-term electoral thinking....
Labor’s education report card is one step forward, two steps back
Trisha JhaMarch 25, 2025AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Efforts to put strict conditions on additional school funding to the states to improve outcomes...
Campuses shouldn’t be safe spaces to breed intolerance
Steven SchwartzMarch 22, 2025THE AUSTRALIAN
A curious trend has taken hold: the re-segregation of student housing, common areas, and even...
How not to waste Gonski school funding
Trisha JhaFebruary 19, 2025AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
Additional federal money may unfortunately extend and expand inefficient and ineffective practices rather than lift...
Being explicit in class best way to lift results
Trisha JhaJanuary 16, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH

Welcomed by parents but dreaded by children, the ‘Back to School’ signs have begun to...

maths, anxiety, maths anxiety, policy, education
Do the maths or we’ll never be a STEM superpower
Glenn FaheyDecember 12, 2024THE AUSTRALIAN

Calls for Australia to become a STEM superpower will never be answered unless our students...

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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