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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.

Pathways to mediocrity
Monica WilkieMarch 12, 2020IDEAS@THECENTRE

Merit is under attack – again. The University of Technology Sydney now offers 10 bonus...

Here we Gonski again
Blaise JosephMarch 5, 2020IDEAS@THECENTRE

Australian education is still paying the price of bad, expensive ideas from previous reviews. Let’s...

Education policy rolls dice
Fiona MuellerFebruary 27, 2020IDEAS@THECENTRE

“Both today and 20 years from now, I want Australians to be in control of...

Forget dumbing down of schools. What about dumbing down of teachers?
Mitchell ThomasFebruary 25, 2020Spectator

As students returned to school over the past few weeks, a new crop of graduate...

Australia has a real problem with our educational standards
Blaise JosephFebruary 25, 2020Daily Telegraph

Disappointed but not surprised. That’s how sensible people will react to today’s report confirming there...

Not learning to teach
Mitchell ThomasFebruary 20, 2020IDEAS@THECENTRE

As students returned to school recently, a new crop of graduate teachers was well-equipped to...

Inquiry into measurement and outcome-based funding in New South Wales schools
Glenn FaheyAugust 31, 2019

The Portfolio Committee on Education in the NSW Legislative Council has set up an inquiry...

Overcoming the Odds 2: Where are the top-performing disadvantaged secondary schools?
Blaise JosephJuly 23, 2019PP21

Students from disadvantaged social backgrounds perform worse academically on average than more advantaged students. However,...

Overcoming the Odds: A study of Australia’s top-performing disadvantaged schools
Blaise JosephMarch 18, 2019RR39

Students from disadvantaged social backgrounds perform worse on average academically than more advantaged students. This...

Reading Recovery: A Failed Investment
Jennifer Buckingham OAMFebruary 7, 2019PP15

Five from Five is now a community education project supported by MultiLit, a reading program...

Have We All Gone Mad? The Snowflake Epidemic
Steven Schwartz, Lindsay Shepherd, Claire Lehmann, Tiffany JenkinsNovember 22, 2018OP168

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

University Freedom Charters: How best to protect free speech on Australian campuses
Jeremy SammutOctober 7, 2018PP10

This POLICY Paper recommends how and why a ‘university freedom charters’ policy that is backed...

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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