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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.

Does NSW have anything to learn about school entry policy?
Matthew TaylorJanuary 30, 2015

According to the Australian Primary Principals’ Association (APPA) school entry policies need reform and should...

School funding mess no surprise
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJanuary 23, 2015

The key findings of the latest OECD report Education Policy Outlook 2015 – that school...

Reading writing on the wall
Jennifer Buckingham OAMJanuary 6, 2015The Australian

Reading specialists around Australia and the world greeted yesterday’s article on NSW primary teaching degrees...

MEDIA RELEASE: Education ministers’ meeting must consider phonics for better reading instruction
Jennifer Buckingham OAMDecember 11, 2014

State and territory education ministers must consider adopting the recommendation that phonemic awareness and phonics...

What to give a child who can’t read?
Jennifer Buckingham OAMDecember 5, 2014

In the state of Victoria, there are approximately 40,000 students in Years 3 to 9...

Nice plan to toughen teacher degree
Jennifer Buckingham OAMNovember 17, 2014The Australian

No matter the question in education, the answer more often than not is better teacher...

Conduct Becoming. The importance of the Behaviour Curriculum
Tom BennettOctober 5, 2023AP56

Introduction Behaviour in many schools in the UK is often far below what it could...

Teaching Behaviour: How Classroom Conduct Can Unlock Better Learning
Tim McDonaldSeptember 28, 2023AP55

Introduction In Australia, and in education settings across the world, student behaviour and levels of...

Starting off on the wrong foot: How to improve Initial Teacher Education in Australia
Glenn Fahey, Rob JosephAugust 14, 2023AP53

Executive summary Australia’s Initial Teacher Education (ITE) sector has been under review for much of...

In Defence of Meritocracy
Steven SchwartzJuly 6, 2023AP50

Introduction Democracies, dictatorships, and all other forms of government face the same dilemma—how to allocate...

Degree Inflation: Undermining the value of higher education
Steven SchwartzMay 18, 2023AP48

Degree Inflation: Undermining the value of higher education — Executive Summary The past 20 years...

ATAR changes
ATAR’s rising relevance: admission standards and completion rates
Rob JosephFebruary 27, 2023AP44

Join us on Wednesday, 27 March, as we welcome Sarah Powell to CIS to discuss...

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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