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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.

While our schools coach kids in social activism, literacy takes a back seat
Glenn FaheyOctober 27, 2020The Australian

School students are being groomed for social activism while too many are still functionally illiterate...

Quantity ≠ quality
Glenn FaheyOctober 23, 2020Ideas@theCentre

The class of 2020 began HSC exams this week — but not all will benefit...

Our clever country deserves better than two-speed education
Glenn FaheyOctober 18, 2020Canberra Times

AUSTRALIA’S two-speed education system has been tolerated for too long – with recent research showing...

What women want out of childcare
Fiona MuellerOctober 14, 2020Financial Review

Labor has made cheaper childcare a centrepiece of its response to the federal budget, saying...

Closures undermined education
Glenn FaheyOctober 9, 2020Ideas@theCentre

New CIS research confirms the breadth of educational damage of school closures — especially troubling...

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....

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...

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...

Outsmart Your Brain | Daniel Willingham | Glenn Fahey
Glenn Fahey, Mr Daniel WillinghamMay 8, 2023
Outsmart Your Brain...
2023 NSW State Election: Education Debate
Sarah Mitchell, Prue Car, Glenn FaheyMarch 16, 2023
CIS welcomed NSW Education Minister, Sarah Mitchell and NSW Shadow Education Minister, Prue Car for...
Emily Hanford: Sold A Story
Emily Hanford, Glenn FaheyFebruary 3, 2023
We welcomed Investigative education reporter and host of the ground-breaking Sold a Story podcast, Emily...
Building world-class schools in Australia
Katharine Birbalsingh, Alan Tudge, Glenn Fahey, Manisha GazulaNovember 7, 2022
CIS Education program director Glenn Fahey is joined for a discussion on improving schools in...
katharine birbalsingh event at CIS on schools
The Michaela Way
Katharine BirbalsinghOctober 27, 2022

It’s no secret that Australian schools’ performance has been in decline for many years. That’s...

Debunking Maths Myths
Sarah Powell, Oliver Lovell, Jennifer Buckingham OAM, Glenn FaheySeptember 29, 2022
Leading mathematics teaching experts Sarah Powell and Ollie Lovell sat down with Glenn Fahey to...
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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