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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.

Roll out the test that stops children failing at the first hurdle
Tom SwitzerDecember 11, 2020SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

  Little is more fundamental to the success of an individual than literacy. If our...

It’s not giving a Gonski but better teachers that improve schools
Glenn FaheyDecember 6, 2020Financial Review

Taxpayer funding for schools has climbed to about $16,000 per student and exceeds $60 billion...

Jen Buckingham Sky News Credlin on phonics
CIS victory on phonics
Tom SwitzerDecember 5, 2020CIS

Sinking scores, poor sentence construction, misspelling words. In recent years, the process of teaching school...

Time for smart school funding reform
Glenn FaheyDecember 4, 2020Ideas@theCentre

New CIS research shows that sustained, record increases to school funding are not improving Australia’s...

Dollars and Sense: Time for smart reform of Australian school funding
Glenn FaheyDecember 1, 2020RR40

Australia is among the world’s highest-spending countries on schooling. Yet, the educational return on this...

A House Divided: The AFRB and China’s Subnational Diplomacy in Australia
Salvatore BabonesNovember 12, 2020AP17

This paper examines China’s subnational diplomacy in Australia and the suitability of Australia’s Foreign Relations...

A shorter path to teaching: Exploring one-year postgraduate qualifications
A shorter path to teaching: Exploring one-year postgraduate qualifications
Rob JosephDecember 7, 2022PP48

A shorter path to teaching: Exploring one-year postgraduate qualifications – Executive Summary Australia faces major...

Katharine Birbalsingh: How progressive teaching is failing students
Katharine BirbalsinghNovember 15, 2022OP192

Katharine Birbalsingh has been described as ‘Britain’s meanest headmistress’ because of her use of detentions...

Myths That Undermine Maths Teaching
Sarah Powell, Elizabeth M. Hughes, Corey PeltierAugust 11, 2022AP38

Myths about learning and teaching maths continue to plague classroom practice despite consistent lack of...

Teaching National Shame: History and citizenship in the school curriculum
Joanna WilliamsJuly 28, 2022OP189
This paper examines the impact of changing approaches to teaching history and citizenship on the...
Expand University Places without Blowing Out Budgets: The 1/1 Policy for Undergraduate Reform
Salvatore BabonesMarch 28, 2022OP186
As Australia heads to the polls in 2022, higher education is, as usual, a question...
AP34 Image maths skills
Setting the preschool foundation for success in Mathematics
David C. GearyMarch 24, 2022AP34
Children’s mathematical competencies in school impact on their long-term outcomes at work and in general...
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...

Holding the education system to account | Amanda Spielman
Glenn Fahey, Amanda SpielmanApril 16, 2024

The English education system has been a model for reform in teacher training, managing behaviour,...

charter schools, macky, education
Do charter schools offer a better education? Margaret Raymond explains
Trisha JhaJanuary 19, 2024

Do charter schools offer a better education? In a probing exploration of the education landscape,...

Eric Hanushek, school, education, economics
Eric Hanushek on the economics of education.
Eric Hanushek, Trisha JhaJanuary 12, 2024

Eric Hanushek on the economics of education. What can an economist know about the best...

Understanding the Link: Education, Prosperity, and Australia’s Future
Glenn Fahey, Eric HanushekDecember 1, 2023

Education economists have settled the age-old question of what explains the ‘wealth of nations’: in...

AI in Education: A New Era of Learning | Leslie Loble | Daisy Christodoulou | Glenn Fahey
Glenn Fahey, Leslie Loble , Daisy ChristodoulouNovember 29, 2023

The advancement of artificial intelligence is transforming various aspects of our lives, including the education...

Mississippi’s Education Success: A Model for Australia | Carey Wright | Jennifer Buckingham
Glenn Fahey, Carey Wright , Jennifer Buckingham OAMNovember 15, 2023

In recent years, Australia has grappled with disappointing education outcomes, with around four in 10...

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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