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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.

Familiar bleats for more funding
Blaise JosephFebruary 1, 2017The Spectator - Flat White

An education policy that doesn’t include lavishing more money on schools? Outrageous! That’s been the...

10 things to look for in Year 4
Jennifer Buckingham OAM, Greg AshmanDecember 11, 2016Sunday Telegraph

Australia’s poor results in the latest international assessments of reading, maths and science should be...

Our leaning tower of PISA
Jennifer Buckingham OAMDecember 7, 2016Australian Financial Review

Two sets of independent international test results released in the past week show Australia’s education...

MEDIA RELEASE: New PISA reading, maths and science results confirm Australia’s educational decline
Jennifer Buckingham OAMDecember 6, 2016

“Two sets of independent international test results released in the past week show that Australia’s...

The neoliberals ate my maths homework
Jennifer Buckingham OAMDecember 1, 2016Spectator - Flat White

The latest international maths and science results suggest that Australia is a slow learner when...

MEDIA RELEASE: Australia’s maths and science ranking drops to dismal level
Jennifer Buckingham OAMNovember 29, 2016

“The latest international test results show Australia is a slow learner when it comes to...

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...

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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