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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.

Teachers’ union stance wrong on reading
Private: Julie MavlianOctober 5, 2018Ideas@TheCentre

I have been a member of teachers’ unions since I began teaching 30 years ago....

Five ways unis can advance free expression
Steven SchwartzSeptember 29, 2018The Australian

If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they...

Punish universities if they won’t protect freedom of speech
Tom SwitzerSeptember 22, 2018The Sydney Morning Herald

In 1932, a student group at the University of Chicago invited the US Communist Party...

It’s official: Australia spends more than enough on schools
Blaise JosephSeptember 21, 2018Ideas@TheCentre

The education debate at the next federal election is shaping up to be about the...

Free speech charters must be more than words
Jeremy SammutSeptember 21, 2018Ideas@TheCentre

Federal Education Minister, Dan Tehan, has proposed that Australian universities be required to adopt new...

Extra $4.6 billion for schools a bad deal for taxpayers
Blaise JosephSeptember 20, 2018MEDIA RELEASE

The Morrison government’s announcement today of an extra $4.6 billion for non-government schools over the...

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...

Stronger Maths Starts With Early Screening
Kelly Norris, Randall EvansFebruary 7, 2025

In Australia, a significant number of students struggle with mathematics, with many falling behind early...

What is the Science of Learning? | Trisha Jha
Trisha Jha, Randall EvansJanuary 23, 2025

If we want to children to learn, we have to teach them in a way...

The Secret to Fixing Education Standards | Nick Gibb
Nick Gibb, Glenn FaheyNovember 21, 2024

Nick Gibb, the UK’s long-serving Schools Minister, shares insights into the transformative education reforms in...

Support CIS Research in 2024
Tom SwitzerJune 12, 2024

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How to fix bad behaviour in schools | Tom Bennett
Glenn Fahey, Professor Tom BennettMay 28, 2024

Australian classrooms are some of the worst behaved in the world. The girls are stressed...

How to reward teachers for better educational outcomes
Edmund StephenApril 16, 2024

Unfortunately, we cannot simply throw money at all of our problems, as we have learned...

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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