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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.

Enquiry-based learning isn’t evidence-based
Blaise JosephFebruary 1, 2019Ideas@TheCentre

You have to wonder how many times something has to be tried before people stop...

Page Research Centre School Education Policy Paper 2019
Fiona MuellerJanuary 24, 2019Page Research Centre

School education outcomes in Australia are poor by international standards and are declining. The Page...

Make universities pay for picking poorly prepared students
Steven SchwartzJanuary 24, 2019The Australian

Universities have drastically dropped their entry requirements for teaching degrees, resulting in a hit on...

Plenty to envy as Ramsay’s millions finally find a home
Steven SchwartzDecember 18, 2018The Sydney Morning Herald

Some universities may be regretting their intransigence at hearing 150 lucky University of Wollongong students...

The HSC is under threat but we need its data to ensure education standards don’t drop
Jennifer Buckingham OAMDecember 18, 2018The Daily Telegraph

The Higher School Certificate has long been considered the jewel in the crown of the...

Teaching universities freedom of speech 101
Jeremy SammutDecember 7, 2018The Daily Telegraph

One of the greatest threats to free speech in Australian universities is that those in...

Teacher workforce: fiction vs fact
Glenn FaheyMarch 3, 2022RR43
Australia’s education outcomes have deteriorated, despite increased spending on teachers and policies to increase the...
AP32 Image critical thinking
Some Critical Thoughts about Critical and Creative Thinking
John SwellerFebruary 7, 2022AP32
Developing creative and critical thinking is a major priority of educators and policymakers. This is...
Initial Teacher Education in mathematics
Failing to teach the teacher: An analysis of mathematics Initial Teacher Education
Glenn Fahey, Jordan O’Sullivan, Jared BussellNovember 25, 2021AP29

Policymakers have increasingly looked to improvements in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) as key to overcoming...

Beating lockdown blues: Students pass the Covid test
Glenn FaheyOctober 25, 2021RR42

Students have suffered educational disruption in combatting the spread of covid-19, particularly in dealing with...

Why Inquiry Based Approaches Harm Students’ Learning
John SwellerAugust 11, 2021AP24

This paper outlines the evidence and scientific reasons that inquiry based learning reduces academic performance....

Writing matters: reversing a legacy of policy failure in Australian education
Deidre Clary, Fiona MuellerJuly 28, 2021AP23

Generational decline in student achievement and teacher expertise in writing skills — the poor cousin...

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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