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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.

World class needn’t cost the world
Glenn FaheySeptember 13, 2019Ideas@TheCentre

The NAPLAN 2019 body isn’t cold yet, but we already have yet more evidence that...

Why the Child Care Subsidy is failing parents
Fiona MuellerSeptember 12, 2019The Daily Telegraph

Taxpayers will subsidise child care for over 800,000 Australian families to the tune of $8...

Teachers need more time and fewer classes, not more pay
Glenn Fahey, Blaise JosephSeptember 11, 2019Financial Review

It is not low teacher pay or oversized classes that is pulling down Australia’s educational...

What Do Parents Want? Australian childcare preferences and attitudes
Eugenie Joseph, Fiona MuellerSeptember 10, 2019PP22

Many Australian families rely on formal and informal childcare to enable them to take on...

New CIS research: Parents prefer more flexible childcare options even if it means less taxpayer support
Fiona MuellerSeptember 10, 2019MEDIA RELEASE

Half the parents receiving Australia’s $8 billion annual subsidy for formal childcare would prefer other...

How many international students are too many?
Salvatore BabonesSeptember 6, 2019Ideas@TheCentre

The CIS report ‘The China Student Boom and the Risks It Poses to Australian Universities’...

Keeping PISA in Perspective: Why Australian Education Policy Should Not Be Driven by International Test Results
Jennifer Buckingham OAMDecember 18, 2012IA136

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Maths and Science...

Australia’s Asia Literacy Non-Problem
Benjamin HerscovitchSeptember 5, 2012IA133

New large-scale Asia literacy programs are not necessary for Australia to prosper in the Asian...

Indigenous Education 2012
Helen Hughes, Mark HughesJune 27, 2012PM129

In 2008, governments reduced their Indigenous literacy and numeracy target from ‘fix the problem in...

Overcoming a Culture of Low Expectations
March 28, 2012IA131

The most important thing we can do to encourage disadvantaged Australians into work – including...

NSW Community Discussion Paper: Improving Educational Outcomes for Aboriginal People
Helen Hughes, Mark HughesMarch 23, 2012

By ending the raft of current discriminatory, costly and ineffective Indigenous education policies, the New...

Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People
Helen Hughes, Sara HudsonNovember 18, 2011

Australia has a serious problem in low participation in higher education by students from low...

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...

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

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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...

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