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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.

Meritocracy
A great court victory for meritocracy
Steven SchwartzJune 30, 2023AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

The United States Supreme Court’s meritocracy verdict in favour of Students for Fair Admissions has...

Help may be on way for graduate teachers who don’t feel class-ready
Glenn FaheyJune 13, 2023ABC

Later this month, the federal government’s Teacher Education Expert Panel will hand down what promises...

Vested interests thwart school reform
Glenn FaheyMay 24, 2023AFR

A year into Labor’s administration, Education Minister Jason Clare has a unique opportunity to transform...

Degree Inflation: Undermining the value of higher education
Steven SchwartzMay 18, 2023AP48

Degree Inflation: Undermining the value of higher education — Executive Summary The past 20 years...

Outsmart Your Brain | Daniel Willingham | Glenn Fahey
Glenn Fahey, Mr Daniel WillinghamMay 8, 2023
Outsmart Your Brain...
Teaching classroom school
‘Old-school’ class management skills empower teachers
Glenn FaheyApril 15, 2023THE AUSTRALIAN

The OECD has handed down yet another disappointing report card on Australia’s school systems. It...

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...

Australian universities treating overseas students as cash cows
Salvatore BabonesAugust 20, 2019The Daily Telegraph

Our universities have become dangerously dependent on overseas students whom they treat as cash cows....

Choice means more than a public-private pick
Glenn FaheyAugust 16, 2019Ideas@TheCentre

The Australian Scholarships Group (ASG)’s flagship annual publication — the Parents Report Card — dishes...

Memo to the ABC: class warfare doesn’t improve schools
Glenn FaheyAugust 14, 2019Spectator

An ABC News investigation has lifted the lid on the claimed ‘great education divide’ in...

Cash is no answer to failing schools
Tom Switzer, Blaise JosephAugust 9, 2019Australian Financial Review

Conventional wisdom holds that student disadvantage is attributed to too little public spending – with...

Yes, Ministers – collaboration is the answer
Fiona MuellerAugust 9, 2019Ideas@TheCentre

Public confidence in Australian school education may be low, but no one could complain about...

Overcoming the odds in high school
Blaise JosephAugust 2, 2019Ideas@TheCentre

Parents often focus more on the choice of a secondary school, but it turns out...

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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