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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.

National curriculum must ditch politics for evidence
Glenn FaheyMay 3, 2021Sydney Morning Herald

As the dust settles on proposed changes to the national curriculum, gears must shift from...

On Liberty EP48 Education or Enstupidation? English in the Curriculum
Salvatore Babones, Fiona MuellerApril 28, 2021On Liberty

How can students be expected to develop into intellectual adults if they are never exposed...

Why Australian educators should welcome teacher training review
Glenn FaheyApril 25, 2021Canberra Times

Tiresome and all-too-predictable resistance to reviewing teacher training is more proof the education system is...

States spoil Australia’s school scorecard
Glenn FaheyApril 14, 2021Financial Review

Arresting Australia’s educational decline calls for national leadership. And federal Education Minister Alan Tudge, has...

Countering Indigenous educational disadvantage
Lorraine HammondMarch 26, 2021Ideas@TheCentre

For decades, and despite best intentions and considerable resourcing, there’s sadly been limited evidence of...

Alles Gute, Mathias Cormann!
Fiona MuellerMarch 26, 2021Ideas@TheCentre

While not a product of Australian education, former Finance Minister, Mathias Cormann, is an exemplar...

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...

Don’t blame corporate sector for low Indigenous employment
Sara HudsonMarch 22, 2013

According to a new report by the Diversity Council Australia, Reconciliation Australia and Lend Lease,...

Victorian revival highlights lost ground on child welfare
Jeremy SammutFebruary 15, 2013

Compulsory school attendance was introduced in Australia during the Victorian era in the later-nineteenth century....

Language policy gone loco
Benjamin HerscovitchFebruary 1, 2013

For every story of sovereign debt risks in Europe and US fiscal woes, there is...

Students should seize the day, not the decade
Greg MelleuishJanuary 14, 2013The Australian

IT seems we in the West have sleepwalked into an entirely new type of human...

Degrees lose their cachet
Steven SchwartzJanuary 7, 2013Australian Financial Review

The plumber took 10 minutes to unplug the toilet and then presented his customer with...

Far-reaching literacy strategy called for
Jennifer Buckingham OAMDecember 18, 2012Australian Financial Review

The publication of new data from international student tests can be relied upon to cause...

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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