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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.

Report card for schools
Jennifer Buckingham OAMNovember 30, 2001

For school funding fetishists who just happen to have eight or 10 hours to spare,...

Public Education in New South Wales: Submission to the ‘Vinson’ Inquiry
Ross HaroldNovember 28, 2001IA20

The most effective way of improving school performance without increasing recurrent funding is to enable...

Set our unis free
November 21, 2001The Australian

It takes some imagination to describe Australia’s universities as showing ‘clear indications of market failure’,...

Loss for education before polls closed
November 15, 2001The Canberra Times

Even before the polling booths closed on 10 November, the higher education interest groups had...

Central control dilutes quality
November 14, 2001The Australian

The recent Senate report, Universities in Crisis, declared that our universities are experiencing an ‘unmistakable...

Paying for a future by degrees
Lauchlan ChipmanOctober 24, 2001The Australian

To the best of my knowledge, no government in the world has privatised education. Yet...

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...

Trouble brewing for childcare
Trisha JhaOctober 7, 2016Ideas@TheCentre

Just as the Education Minister has disabled the landmine that was Labor’s troubled VET fee...

School funding should be without fear or favour
Jennifer Buckingham OAMOctober 1, 2016The Australian - Inquirer

The collective gasp that resonated around the country when federal education minister Simon Birmingham said...

At last, a ranking system to sort wheat from chaff
Steven SchwartzSeptember 28, 2016The Australian

  The National University of Typing, Tiling and Yodelling, or NUTTY, was crowned Best University...

RIP Reading Recovery
Jennifer Buckingham OAMSeptember 23, 2016Spectator Flat White

  Thanks to NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli, the deeply entrenched, multi-million dollar Reading Recovery...

Focusing on the family
Trisha JhaSeptember 23, 2016Ideas@TheCentre

There’s been a lot of focus on early childhood development as the site of inequality...

FIVE from FIVE helps parents get children ready to read
Jennifer Buckingham OAMSeptember 23, 2016Ideas@TheCentre

One in five Australian children begin school with poor language skills. In disadvantaged areas, it’s...

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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