Become a Member Donate Now

• 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.

Will higher funding really deliver higher education?
September 3, 2002The Age

A curious feature of the current higher education debate is that very little of it...

Students gain in change
August 29, 2002The Courier Mail

Are low-income young people more or less likely to go to university than they were...

Public choice must fashion education
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJune 26, 2002The Age

Dr Boston raises the important question of the kind of schools in which we would...

Families Freedom and Education: Why School Choice Makes Sense
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJune 24, 2002PM52

Parents have been demonstrating their increasing lack of faith in the public education system for...

Who says uni deregulation is politically unpopular?
June 20, 2002The Age

WHAT a difference 2½ years make. In October 1999, after then education minister David Kemp's...

Unfettered deregulation for varsities
April 29, 2002The Australian Financial Review

Reserve Bank Governor Ian Macfarlane created headlines recently with his remarks about Australia lacking a...

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...

Stronger Maths Starts With Early Screening
Kelly Norris, Randall EvansFebruary 7, 2025

In Australia, a significant number of students struggle with mathematics, with many falling behind early...

What is the Science of Learning? | Trisha Jha
Trisha Jha, Randall EvansJanuary 23, 2025

If we want to children to learn, we have to teach them in a way...

The Secret to Fixing Education Standards | Nick Gibb
Nick Gibb, Glenn FaheyNovember 21, 2024

Nick Gibb, the UK’s long-serving Schools Minister, shares insights into the transformative education reforms in...

Support CIS Research in 2024
Tom SwitzerJune 12, 2024

Donate or become a member below! Donate Today

...
How to fix bad behaviour in schools | Tom Bennett
Glenn Fahey, Professor Tom BennettMay 28, 2024

Australian classrooms are some of the worst behaved in the world. The girls are stressed...

How to reward teachers for better educational outcomes
Edmund StephenApril 16, 2024

Unfortunately, we cannot simply throw money at all of our problems, as we have learned...

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...

No Podcasts Available

• Subscribe

Subscribe now and stay in the loop with our giving appeals, event alerts, newsletters and research updates.

We are always pleased to hear from you. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact us here:

+61 2 9438 4377
CIS Office
cis@cis.org.au
CIS Media
kpincott@cis.org.au