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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.

Naplan
Learning loss of past two decades should be focus of policymakers
Glenn FaheyNovember 28, 2021Canberra Times
School students around the country are finally in exam mode, despite several bids to abandon...
Initial Teacher Education in mathematics
Failing to teach the teacher: An analysis of mathematics Initial Teacher Education
Glenn Fahey, Jordan O’Sullivan, Jared BussellNovember 25, 2021AP29

Policymakers have increasingly looked to improvements in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) as key to overcoming...

Education establishment fails the curriculum reform test
Glenn FaheyNovember 1, 2021Financial Review

Speaking at the Centre for Independent Studies last month, federal Education Minister Alan Tudge outlined...

Reforming Australia’s Schools
Glenn Fahey, Alan TudgeOctober 28, 2021

Australia’s education system needs policy reform, beyond just throwing in yet more funding. As students...

Beating lockdown blues: Students pass the Covid test
Glenn FaheyOctober 25, 2021RR42

Students have suffered educational disruption in combatting the spread of covid-19, particularly in dealing with...

Policymakers must ensure maths curriculum is evidence based
Glenn FaheyOctober 24, 2021Canberra Times

With Australian mathematics in crisis, the test is on for policymakers to ensure evidence wins...

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...

Bureaucracy threatens academic freedom
February 22, 2011The Age

Universities and academics have long complained about excessive government bureaucracy. There is seemingly endless paperwork...

HELPing themselves to a free education
January 21, 2011

'Uni bludgers rack up debt,' screamed a headline in last Monday's Herald Sun newspaper. The...

Remote chance of university
Joe LaneDecember 28, 2010The Australian

The recent release of 2009 university enrolment data shows that indigenous higher education participation continues...

Rioting UK students are misguided
Peter SaundersDecember 17, 2010

Thousands of student radicals and hangers-on smashed up London last week, desecrating the Cenotaph (Britain's...

Top students go backwards
Jennifer Buckingham OAMDecember 9, 2010The Australian

The results of the Program for International Student Assessment every three years are highly anticipated...

Rewriting the formula on fairness
November 30, 2010The Age

Most university students start thinking about higher education at a young age. According to research...

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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