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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.

In Indigenous communities it is all about the teachers
July 2, 2007Online Opinion

If you have flown with Qantas recently, you may have seen the documentary Bush School...

Teachers key to remote schools
Kirsten StorryJune 18, 2007The Australian

In Aurukun on Queensland's Cape York, the school leadership refuses to accept that the complexity...

Dumbing Down: Outcomes-based and politically correct—the impact of the Culture Wars on our schools by Kevin Donnelly
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJune 11, 2007Policy

Dumbing Down: Outcomes-based and politically correct—the impact of the Culture Wars on our schools by...

Give parents informed choice for schooling
Jennifer Buckingham OAMMay 18, 2007The Newcastle Herald

In his widely-reported speech to The Centre for Independent Studies this week, the Prime Minister...

Places left untouched by reform
May 16, 2007The Australian

The $5 billion Higher Education Endowment Fund announced in last week's budget gives the Government...

State must focus on Aboriginal schooling
Kirsten StorryMay 11, 2007The West Australian

When the nation’s education ministers met in Darwin last month, nit-picking over the national literacy...

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...

Lifting literacy needs more than just money
Jennifer Buckingham OAMSeptember 8, 2015Sydney Morning Herald

An unpublished evaluation by the NSW Department of Education has revealed the $50 million a...

Charter system could be key to energising underperforming schools
Jennifer Buckingham OAMSeptember 7, 2015The Australian / Inquirer

In every state and territory government system in Australia, thousands of students attend schools that...

Public enemies
Trisha JhaSeptember 4, 2015Ideas@TheCentre

This week rang with howls of indignation from the usual suspects (unions and public education...

The ‘charter school’ model could help our most needy students
Jennifer Buckingham OAMAugust 31, 2015ABC The Drum

Australia should consider following the lead of the US and introduce privately managed but publicly...

Opposition to for-profit schools based on ideology, not fact
Trisha JhaAugust 31, 2015Canberra Times

Suggest that maybe schools being run for profit isn’t such a bad idea, and you’re...

Phonics call
Jennifer Buckingham OAMAugust 14, 2015Ideas@TheCentre

Around this time last year, a review of the Australian curriculum commissioned by the federal...

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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