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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.

maths, anxiety, maths anxiety, policy, education
Do the maths or we’ll never be a STEM superpower
Glenn FaheyDecember 12, 2024THE AUSTRALIAN

Calls for Australia to become a STEM superpower will never be answered unless our students...

Fractions Minus the Friction. A guide to four teaching practices
Leanne R. Ketterlin-Geller, Allison McClure, Cassandra HatfieldDecember 12, 2024AP78

Introduction Understanding fractions has a significant impact on both individuals and society. Fractions are an...

The Argument For Debate: how school debating can improve academic outcomes and foster a stronger democracy
Deidre Clary, Fiona MuellerDecember 5, 2024AP77

Introduction The Education Goals for Young Australians prioritise “excellence and equity” and the formation of...

The Secret to Fixing Education Standards | Nick Gibb
Nick Gibb, Glenn FaheyNovember 21, 2024

Nick Gibb, the UK’s long-serving Schools Minister, shares insights into the transformative education reforms in...

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...

How to fix a school system?: Education policy lessons from England
How to fix a school system?
Nick Gibb, Glenn FaheyAugust 22, 2024
Join us on Tuesday, 22 October, as we welcome Nick Gibb for a conversation on...
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 the Indigenous Sub-committee of the Standing Committee for the Review of Government Services Provision. 2011
Sara HudsonJanuary 31, 2011

Submission to the Indigenous Sub-committee of the Steering Committee for the Review of Government Services...

Public Education in New South Wales: Submission to the ‘Vinson’ Inquiry
Ross HaroldNovember 28, 2001IA20

The most effective way of improving school performance without increasing recurrent funding is to enable...

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