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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.

The Child Care funding myth
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJuly 26, 2008The Business Spectator

Australia's labour shortage continues to play havoc with some regions and sectors of the Australian...

Child Care and the Labour Supply
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJuly 23, 2008IA97

Child care is said to be a public good because it supposedly has developmental and...

Teachers need help with job appointments
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJune 19, 2008The Newcastle Herald

Last month, all NSW public schools were effectively closed because the NSW Teachers Federation called...

Protectionist Ploy A Blast From The Past
June 11, 2008The Australian

Private providers of higher education have been assisted by the extension of the FEE-HELP loan...

Teachers: Scale their pay to meet demand
Jennifer Buckingham OAMMay 29, 2008

It is regularly argued that teacher pay in Australia is too low, and that this...

Proof of the pudding: health campaigns don’t work
Jeremy SammutMay 9, 2008ABC News Online

There is slim support for the belief that preventive public health policies have brought obesity...

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...

Debate about independent schools must move beyond stereotypes
Jennifer Buckingham OAMFebruary 1, 2016Sydney Morning Herald

When you mention ‘independent schools’, many people picture grand buildings, rolling lawns, and eye-watering tuition...

Post-Gonski, funding question still unanswered
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJanuary 8, 2016Ideas@TheCentre

When federal education minister Simon Birmingham confirmed last week he will not ‘give a Gonski’...

Education funding plan is unclear, but it won’t be as generous as Gonski
Jennifer Buckingham OAMDecember 30, 2015Sydney Morning Herald

Since the Coalition government was elected in 2013, there has been uncertainty about the future...

10 years of slow progress
Jennifer Buckingham OAMDecember 11, 2015Ideas@TheCentre

CIS held a roundtable this week to mark the tenth anniversary of the National Inquiry...

Spelling tricky for kids, so good phonics programs are vital
Jennifer Buckingham OAMDecember 8, 2015The Australian

Ten years ago today, the report of the national inquiry into the teaching of literacy...

Employment, not justice reinvestment, is the ‘panacea’ for high Indigenous incarceration rate
Sara HudsonDecember 4, 2015Online Opinion

The Australian Medical Association’s Report Card on Indigenous Health correctly links particular health issues —...

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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