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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.

In defence of the HSC
Blaise JosephNovember 8, 2019Ideas@TheCentre

Undoubtedly, the Higher School Certificate is hard. But final exams are not intended to be...

Put teachers to the test to get better results for students
Glenn FaheyNovember 4, 2019Financial Review

Governments claim to be ‘outcomes-driven’ in most areas of policy, with school funding in NSW...

Mandatory maths won’t STEM decline
Fiona MuellerNovember 1, 2019Ideas@TheCentre

Even with 400 hours of secondary school mathematics under their belts, it seems that Year...

Outcomes-based school funding easier said than done
Glenn FaheyOctober 25, 2019Ideas@TheCentre

There’s good reason to support government rhetoric about becoming more ‘outcomes-driven’. Who doesn’t want “an...

Future generations will be let down if reforms are just the latest fad
Fiona MuellerOctober 23, 2019The Sydney Morning Herald

Few will argue with the NSW Curriculum Review’s overarching finding that change is needed. Far...

Dumbing Down the ‘Smart Country’
Fiona MuellerOctober 8, 2019Quadrant

Another federal election and the passing of former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke have revived...

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...

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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