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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.

Importing Australia’s Asia literacy
Benjamin HerscovitchSeptember 7, 2012

Politicians, commentators and academics are all saying Australia’s supposed inability to speak Asian languages and...

Australia’s Asia Literacy Non-Problem
Benjamin HerscovitchSeptember 5, 2012IA133

New large-scale Asia literacy programs are not necessary for Australia to prosper in the Asian...

Government responsible for poor Indigenous outcomes, not culture
Sara HudsonAugust 31, 2012

Over the years, I have been struck by the similar problems and experiences of First...

Unempirical Asian languages alarmism
Benjamin HerscovitchAugust 16, 2012

Reading the recent coverage of the debate about the adequacy of Australia’s Asia literacy, one...

Why our kids still cannot read
Jennifer Buckingham OAMAugust 10, 2012The Australian

THE damning findings of the NSW Auditor-General’s report on indigenous literacy released this week should...

Poor education is letting Indigenous children down
Helen Hughes, Mark HughesJuly 6, 2012The Drum

Recently released census Indigenous data for 2011 shows that more than 85 per cent of...

Scaling up success in majority Indigenous schools
Noel PearsonJuly 8, 2021OP182

Addressing the Centre for Independent Studies, Noel Pearson outlines his insights and observations from decades...

Mind the Gap: Understanding the Indigenous education gap and how to close it
Glenn FaheyJune 24, 2021RR41

Indigenous education disadvantage remains among the most pressing and persistent public policy challenges in Australia....

Confronting Indigenous educational disadvantage: A Kimberley perspective
Lorraine HammondMarch 24, 2021AP20

Overcoming Indigenous education disadvantage is possible with the right teaching approaches and school policies. It...

A 2021 education resolution: keep an eye on the Australian Curriculum
Fiona MuellerFebruary 11, 2021OP179

The COVID-19 pandemic is stimulating debate about the relationship between the governed and their leaders,...

Worlds Apart: Remote Indigenous disadvantage in the context of wider Australia
Jacinta Nampijinpa PriceJanuary 25, 2021PP34

Remote and very remote Indigenous communities have become victims of a ‘wicked problem’. A combination...

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...

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...

The Manchurian Campus? Threats to Free Speech in Higher Education
Rob Stokes, Tom SwitzerOctober 22, 2018

Amidst the debate about Chinese influence in Australia, NSW Minister for Education, the Hon. Rob...

Have We All Gone Mad? The Snowflake Epidemic
Tiffany Jenkins, Steven Schwartz, Lindsay Shepherd, Claire LehmannAugust 17, 2018

University campuses throughout the West are in the grip of a troubling social phenomenon, now...

What’s happened to the University?
Frank Furedi, Marguerite Johnson, Steven SchwartzOctober 6, 2017

Trigger warnings, cultural appropriation and safe spaces. Who decided to bestow guardian status to Australian...

Taking control of the classroom: How teachers and principals can improve behaviour in schools
Tom Bennett, Sue O’Neill, Kylie HedgerJuly 20, 2017

Poor behaviour in schools is a significant factor undermining student achievement. International data suggests behaviour...

How to Improve Australian Phonics and Literacy
Nick GibbApril 20, 2017

England’s schools have undergone substantial changes in the last decade, including: introducing systematic phonics teaching...

Phonics and Literacy
Rob StokesApril 20, 2017

England’s schools have undergone substantial changes in the last decade, including: introducing systematic phonics teaching...

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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