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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.

School closures hurt disadvantaged families more
Blaise JosephApril 23, 2020Spectator

Schools are one of the most complex parts of the policy response to coronavirus. Policymakers...

Learning from home isn’t fair or sustainable
Blaise JosephApril 17, 2020Financial Review

If the best that can be said for digital education is that it’s useful for...

Students are starting school online this week – only to face a Ruddy mess
Glenn FaheyApril 14, 2020Spectator

Nobody could have predicted the demands of this year’s schooling transformation, but we could —...

Year 12 exams must go ahead
Blaise JosephApril 9, 2020Ideas@TheCentre

Keep calm and carry on. That should be the clear, consistent message we give Year...

Schools in limbo a poor substitute for regular classes
Blaise JosephApril 5, 2020Sydney Morning Herald

Working from home has its challenges, but learning from home can be even harder. Australian...

Tom Switzer - Executive Director Centre for Independent Studies
Note from Tom Switzer
Tom SwitzerApril 2, 2020Ideas@TheCentre

We’re only a few weeks into the coronavirus crisis, and already our intellectual opponents are...

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...

The Gonski Review: Game Changer or Dust Gatherer. Jennifer Buckingham
March 23, 2012
Q&A The Gonski Review: Game Changer or Dust Gatherer?
March 23, 2012
Andrew Norton
May 30, 2011
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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