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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.

Will generation lockdown write good history?
Fiona MuellerAugust 18, 2020Spectator

Twenty-first century history is being made each day. The news is full of statue-toppling anarchists...

Why stop at ending HECS-HELP for failing students? Give the universities some skin in the game
Steven SchwartzAugust 16, 2020Spectator

Some students have accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars in student debt without obtaining a...

Give low-income parents a school choice
Glenn Fahey, Blaise JosephAugust 13, 2020Ideas@theCentre

We have to stop using private schools as a scapegoat for everything wrong with Australian...

On Liberty EP19 Should we increase university places?
Salvatore Babones, Andrew NortonAugust 13, 2020On Liberty

Salvatore Babones spoke with Andrew Norton, co-founder of CIS Liberty & Society and Professor of...

Give low-income parents a school choice: that’s the key to equity
Glenn Fahey, Blaise JosephAugust 13, 2020Sydney Morning Herald

We have to stop using private schools as a scapegoat for everything wrong with Australian...

Do schools need a transformation?
Jordan Baker, Pasi Sahlberg, Greg AshmanAugust 13, 2020

A discussion between leading experts on the future of Australian education. Pasi Sahlberg and Greg...

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...

On Liberty EP97 Teacher workforce shortages
Glenn Fahey, Mark LathamAugust 18, 2022On Liberty
Glenn Fahey asks Mark Latham, Member of the NSW Legislative Council and Chair of the...
The State of Education in NSW
Sarah Mitchell, Glenn FaheyAugust 4, 2022
NSW Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning, The Hon. Sarah Mitchell spoke to CIS...
On Liberty EP94 Early literacy important for later success
Pam Snow, Glenn FaheyJuly 6, 2022On Liberty
Glenn Fahey speaks with Professor Pamela Snow to discuss the correlation between poor literacy education...
Reclaiming our classrooms from disruption
Tom Bennett, Glenn FaheyJune 28, 2022
CIS education program director Glenn Fahey and one of the world’s leading practitioners of classroom...
Ensuring Australia’s maths teaching adds up to success
Eddie Woo, Greg Ashman, Glenn Fahey, Jenny DonovanMay 19, 2022
Hear from two of Australia's leading mathematics educators, Eddie Woo and Greg Ashman, as they...
Australia’s Universities: Can They Reform?
Salvatore Babones, Simon Haines, Glenn FaheyApril 11, 2022
Ramsay Centre for Western Civilisation CEO Professor Simon Haines launches author and CIS adjunct scholar...
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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