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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.

Why we still need NAPLAN
Blaise JosephApril 12, 2019Ideas@TheCentre

When Julia Gillard defied the odds in 2008 to introduce NAPLAN successfully, it may have...

This is why we need NAPLAN
Blaise JosephApril 8, 2019The Sydney Morning Herald

When Julia Gillard defied the odds in 2008 to successfully introduce NAPLAN, it may have...

Overcoming the Odds
Blaise Joseph, Tom Switzer, Victoria Golding, Kevin MackayApril 3, 2019

Groundbreaking CIS research has identified the common policies and practices leading to success in disadvantaged...

Keys to overcoming disadvantage at school
Blaise JosephMarch 27, 2019Newcastle Herald

“We want 100% of our students reading. We don’t care what their backgrounds are when...

How disadvantaged schools can be top performers
Blaise JosephMarch 22, 2019Ideas@TheCentre

In the lead up to the NSW and federal elections, education policy has degenerated into...

How disadvantaged schools can be top performers
Blaise JosephMarch 21, 2019The Educator

We can improve outcomes for our most disadvantaged students, if evidence-based school practices are adopted....

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...

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 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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