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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.

Outcomes before inputs in education
Glenn FaheyFebruary 8, 2020The Australian

Each new school year elicits mixed emotions for parents and children, ranging from excitement to...

Early years of primary importance
Blaise JosephJanuary 31, 2020Financial Review

It is a myth that primary school is less important than secondary school.Parental engagement and...

Human cost of failing the education test
Fiona MuellerJanuary 27, 2020Canberra Times

Many young Australians will begin 2020 with optimism as they make plans for further study,...

Make 2020 the year of the student
Glenn FaheyJanuary 24, 2020Daily Telegraph

As parents prepare for the start of the school year, many of them are feeling...

Back to homework
Blaise JosephJanuary 24, 2020Ideas@TheCentre

School is almost back; and for most students that means homework is just around the...

Postcodes, not high fees, are best clues to performance
Blaise JosephDecember 20, 2019The Australian

If you need any more proof that higher school spending doesn’t guarantee better academic results,...

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...

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 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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