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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.

Supply and demand formula for universities is failing
October 6, 2008The Age

Around Australia, the first applications for next year's university places are now in. Unfortunately, for...

The Northern Territory’s performance in national literacy and numeracy testing
Helen HughesSeptember 17, 2008The Australian

When we drew attention to the failures of Northern Territory schooling in April this year,...

School reporting will be the first test of Labor’s ‘modern federalism’
Jennifer Buckingham OAMAugust 12, 2008The Canberra Times

A problematic feature of school education in Australia is that there is a fair amount...

The Child Care funding myth
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJuly 26, 2008The Business Spectator

Australia's labour shortage continues to play havoc with some regions and sectors of the Australian...

Child Care and the Labour Supply
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJuly 23, 2008IA97

Child care is said to be a public good because it supposedly has developmental and...

Teachers need help with job appointments
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJune 19, 2008The Newcastle Herald

Last month, all NSW public schools were effectively closed because the NSW Teachers Federation called...

Trailing the Class: Sole Parent Families and Educational Disadvantage
Alison RichJune 26, 2000IA11

The association between family structure and educational performance has been the focus of much research...

Boy Troubles: Understanding Rising Suicide, Rising Crime and Educational Failure
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJune 14, 2000PM46

Australian boys are at greater risk of doing badly at school, participating in juvenile crime,...

Parents and their children’s education
Alison RichMay 1, 2000PM48

Foreword At a time when many parents are concerned about the quality of their children’s...

The Puzzle of Boys’ Educational Decline: A Review of the Evidence
Jennifer Buckingham OAMNovember 18, 1999IA9

The declining standard of boys school performance in the last decade is great cause for...

Taking Education Seriously – A Reform Program for Australia’s Schools
Ken GannicottSeptember 16, 1997PM38

 

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State of the Nation: Statistical Indicators of Australia’s Well-being (1997)
Lucy Sullivan, Barry Maley, Michael WarbyApril 1, 1997SP01

Australia today is very different from the Australia of 100 years ago, or 50 years...

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...

On Liberty EP83 Who runs our universities?
Gerd Schröder-Turk, Salvatore BabonesMarch 23, 2022On Liberty

We welcomed Murdoch University mathematician Prof Gerd Schröder-Turk, a specialist in nano-geometry and member of...

On Liberty EP80 We must follow the educational science
Glenn Fahey, John SwellerMarch 2, 2022On Liberty

We welcome CIS contributor and University of NSW academic, Emeritus Professor John Sweller. Author of...

On Liberty EP77 Maths wars expose the great divide in education
Glenn Fahey, Salvatore BabonesDecember 1, 2021On Liberty

Australian student achievement has declined more steeply and more consistently than almost any other country,...

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...

Overcoming the Educational Odds
Glenn Fahey, Katharine BirbalsinghOctober 14, 2021

High-performing schools make a difference every day in the lives of our younger generation, particularly...

Is educational success key to the wealth of nations?
Glenn Fahey, Eric HanushekSeptember 14, 2021

Australia’s economy is suffering from slow productivity growth and stagnant wages, partly caused by a...

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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