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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.

Indigenous Education 2012
Helen Hughes, Mark HughesJune 27, 2012PM129

In 2008, governments reduced their Indigenous literacy and numeracy target from ‘fix the problem in...

WA can do more in indigenous education
Helen Hughes, Mark HughesJune 27, 2012The West Australian

WA is on its way to reducing indigenous literacy and numeracy failure rates, which will...

‘Indigenous-specific’ programs are a $300m waste
Helen Hughes, Mark HughesJune 27, 2012The Australian

If Queensland and WA do meet their indigenous literacy and numeracy targets, it will take...

‘F’ for flawed literacy report
Jennifer Buckingham OAMMay 18, 2012

One of Adrian Piccoli’s first acts as NSW education minister was to establish a Ministerial...

Mistakes writ large if reading goes wrong
Jennifer Buckingham OAMMay 7, 2012The Sydney Morning Herald

One of Adrian Piccoli's first acts as NSW Education Minister was to establish a ministerial...

Top quality pre-school is child’s play
Jennifer Buckingham OAMApril 30, 2012The Herald Sun

Giving more children access to kindergarten is undeniably a good thing. There is strong evidence...

Childcare in Australia: A new approach
Gigi FosterNovember 20, 2025RR51

Executive summary Several well-known bodies, from the Productivity Commission to the Australian Competition and Consumer...

Knowledge is power: What do teachers believe about learning?
Trisha JhaOctober 30, 2025AP92

Executive Summary This report presents findings from literature about what teachers believe about how students...

Sex and maths success: myths and interventions
David C. GearyJuly 17, 2025AP83

Executive summary Mathematical competencies at the completion of secondary school influence later educational and occupational...

Early Numbers, Big Ideas. Fostering Number Sense in Young Children
Nancy C. Jordan, Nancy DysonJuly 10, 2025AP82

Introduction Numbers are an integral part of our daily lives, both inside and outside of...

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...

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...

Woke ‘sense and sensibilities’ replace reason and logic
Glenn Fahey, Claire Fox, Tanveer AhmedAugust 27, 2021

Schools and universities have become preoccupied with cushioning students’ experiences, rather than challenging them. The...

Is technology our educational saviour?
Glenn Fahey, Jamie Beaton, Wayne Houlden, John HattieJuly 15, 2021

A free and open marketplace for education technology has the potential to deliver innovative solutions...

On Liberty EP53 Australians reject identity politics
Glenn Fahey, Bella D’AbreraJune 2, 2021On Liberty

We talked to Institute of Public Affairs’ Dr Bella d’Abrera. Speaking with The Australian recently,...

Scaling up success in majority Indigenous schools
Glenn Fahey, Noel Pearson, Alan TudgeJune 2, 2021

One of Australia’s most pressing public-policy challenges is to overcome poor education outcomes suffered by...

On Liberty EP48 Education or Enstupidation? English in the Curriculum
Salvatore Babones, Fiona MuellerApril 28, 2021On Liberty

How can students be expected to develop into intellectual adults if they are never exposed...

Advancing Indigenous Education Outcomes
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Lorraine Hammond, Glenn Fahey, Nyunggai Warren Mundine AOJanuary 12, 2021

Indigenous educational disadvantage has persisted despite countless initiatives, programmes, and spending from governments and communities....

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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