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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.

School closures hurt disadvantaged families more
Blaise JosephApril 2, 2020Ideas@TheCentre

Schools are one of the most complex parts of the policy response to coronavirus. Policymakers...

Our school standards are poor enough already, but what if children can’t access online learning?
Fiona MuellerMarch 30, 2020Spectator

For millions of young Australians, it’s homeschooling from now on. As well as getting their...

All quiet on the education leadership front
Fiona MuellerMarch 29, 2020Canberra Times

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other leaders rightly point to the risks facing the educational...

Pathways to mediocrity
Monica WilkieMarch 12, 2020IDEAS@THECENTRE

Merit is under attack – again. The University of Technology Sydney now offers 10 bonus...

Here we Gonski again
Blaise JosephMarch 5, 2020IDEAS@THECENTRE

Australian education is still paying the price of bad, expensive ideas from previous reviews. Let’s...

Education policy rolls dice
Fiona MuellerFebruary 27, 2020IDEAS@THECENTRE

“Both today and 20 years from now, I want Australians to be in control of...

State of the Nation: An Agenda for Change 2004
Jennifer Buckingham OAMMay 5, 2004SP06

This book is now in its fourth edition. It offers independent views on Australia’s progress...

Valuing Education: A Response to the Australia Institute Report ‘Buying an Education’
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJanuary 21, 2004IA43

The Australia Institute recently published a report called Buying An Education: Where Are The Returns...

Boys’ Education – Research & Rhetoric
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJanuary 1, 2004OP89

There is significant evidence that boys have been experiencing educational disadvantage. In this paper, Jennifer...

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Dr Nelson Mixes Price Flexibility and Rigid Quotas
Andrew NortonJune 18, 2003IA37

Commonwealth Education Minister Brendan Nelson’s higher education reform package is a radical evolution in policy,...

Student Debt: A HECS on Fertility?
Andrew NortonApril 2, 2003IA32

Opponents of university fees are tapping into concern about declining fertility levels by arguing that...

Reflections on Class Size and Teacher Quality
Jennifer Buckingham OAMMarch 21, 2003IA29a

Teachers all over the world have long called for lower class sizes, and New Zealand...

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 NAPLAN Reporting Review 2019
Blaise Joseph, Jennifer Buckingham OAMMarch 18, 2019

NAPLAN is a key element of government transparency and accountability There is very little evidence...

Submission to the Senate Education and Employment Committee Inquiry into The Australian Education Amendment Bill 2017
Blaise JosephMay 24, 2017CIS Submission
Productivity Commission Inquiry Into Introducing Competition and Informed User Choice into Human Services: Submission in response to issues paper
Trisha JhaJuly 1, 2016CIS Submission

The Human Services Inquiry is ‘examining policy options in the human services sector that incorporate...

Productivity Commission Inquiry into the National Education Evidence Base: Submission in response to the draft report
Jennifer Buckingham OAMMay 1, 2016CIS Submission

The Review of Education Evidence (Draft Report)—the ‘Draft Report’—provides a useful, up-to-date overview of the...

Submission to the Parliament of NSW Standing Committee on State Development: Inquiry into economic development in Aboriginal communities
Sara HudsonFebruary 12, 2016CIS Submission

In seeking to improve Indigenous economic development outcomes it is important to recognise that high...

Submission to the National Commission of Audit
Alexander Philipatos, Jennifer Buckingham OAM, Jeremy Sammut, Robert Carling, Simon Cowan, Stephen Kirchner, Trisha JhaApril 1, 2014T30.08

The federal government’s Commission of Audit (CoA) was established in 2013 to review the performance...

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