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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.

Tax Welfare Churn and the Australian Welfare State
Andrew BakerMarch 27, 2013T30.02

In 2010–11, Australia’s welfare state, which includes health, education, and welfare accounted for approximately $316...

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,...

TARGET30: Towards smaller government and future prosperity
Peter Saunders, Robert Carling, Simon CowanMarch 6, 2013T30.01

The size of government in Australia (federal, state and local) has been steadily expanding over...

Australia and the Asian Ascendancy: Why Upskilling is Not Necessary to Reap the Rewards
Benjamin HerscovitchFebruary 19, 2013IA137

Australia’s Asian embrace: Australia’s exports to Asia are almost triple its exports to the rest...

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...

The Fantasy of Gonski Funding: The ongoing battle over school spending
Blaise JosephApril 30, 2017RR26

The Gonski Report has not been implemented – there is no such thing as ‘Gonski...

Early Childhood Intervention: Assessing the evidence
Trisha JhaSeptember 20, 2016Research Report 19

Early childhood interventions are programs that aim to improve a child’s development trajectory over the...

Read about it: Scientific evidence for effective teaching of reading
Kerry Hempenstall, Jennifer Buckingham OAMMarch 7, 2016Research Report 11

Five from Five is now a community education project supported by MultiLit, a reading program...

Untangling childcare and family policy
Trisha JhaMarch 5, 2016

Speech given by CIS Policy Analyst Trisha Jha to the NSW Liberal Party’s Rural and...

One School Does Not Fit All
Jennifer Buckingham OAM, Trisha JhaJanuary 31, 2016Research Report 9

Australia has a relatively large degree of choice between schools, a product of historical private...

Free to Choose Charter Schools: How charter and for-profit schools can boost public education
Trisha Jha, Jennifer Buckingham OAMAugust 31, 2015Research Report 6

Charter schools and free schools – publicly-funded, privately-managed schools – have been introduced in several...

We’ve spent the money, now what about the results?
Blaise JosephFebruary 23, 2026CANBERRA TIMES
We have a great window of opportunity now to finally follow through on education reforms...
Education has become a system designed to issue credentials rather than create knowledge
Steven SchwartzFebruary 10, 2026THE AUSTRALIAN
When a society forgets the difference between learning and performance, between a mind and a...
Science of learning
How revamping education will boost the Australian economy
Trisha JhaJanuary 24, 2026CANBERRA TIMES
If Australia wants productivity growth, it needs to start in the classroom....
Australia’s education system is failing students despite $100bn spending
Fiona MuellerDecember 27, 2025THE AUSTRALIAN
Taxpayers know all too well that massive increases in education funding (approaching $100 billion a...
School child reading book
Turning up a first step to success
Trisha JhaDecember 4, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH
The best that can be said about the latest national attendance data is that things...
Give teachers clarity: Maths curriculum should build the staircase, not set the high jump
Kelly NorrisOctober 28, 2025EDUCATIONHQ

The national review of the F–2 maths curriculum is a welcome chance to put the...

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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