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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.

RIP Private Education?
Jennifer Buckingham OAMMarch 13, 2009

Over the last few months there has been a lot of speculation about whether the...

Why Not the Best Schools? What we have learned from outstanding schools around the world
Jennifer Buckingham OAMMarch 11, 2009Policy

Why Not the Best Schools? What we have learned from outstanding schools around the world...

Has Indigenous Education Been Shortchanged Again?
Helen HughesMarch 6, 2009The Australian

The minister for education’s plan to fund two hundred additional teachers with $100 million of...

Prices: Why vouchers won’t work while governments set fees
February 11, 2009

BRADLEY REPORT FAILS TO FIX UNI FEES MESS The Bradley report is another chapter in...

Fixing Prices: Why Vouchers Won’t Work While Governments Set Fees
Andrew NortonFebruary 11, 2009IA105

In December 2008, the federal government received the Review of Australian Higher Education: Final Report,...

No point in Bradley’s vouchers
February 11, 2009The Australian

For more than a decade, first as a ministerial adviser and later as a think-tank...

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...

Why are school standards still falling?
Blaise JosephJune 26, 2019The Spectator

Despite all the policy differences in the election, there was little to distinguish between the...

Modelling the language of mercy
Fiona MuellerJune 21, 2019Quadrant Online

A federal election throws up the good, the bad and the ugly as individuals compete...

Kudos to NSW for phonics check trial
Blaise JosephJune 21, 2019Ideas@TheCentre

The NSW budget included some very welcome education news: a trial of the Year 1...

No, school choice does not cause ‘segregation’
Blaise JosephJune 7, 2019Ideas@TheCentre

The mental gymnastics displayed by some people in order to blame school choice for Australia’s...

More spending not a poll winner
Blaise JosephMay 24, 2019Ideas@TheCentre

A significant proportion of Australians would rather have lower taxes than more spending on public...

NAPLAN is much more gain than pain
Blaise JosephMay 16, 2019DAILY TELEGRAPH

It’s that time of the school year again. NAPLAN has started, and so have the...

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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