Become a Member Donate Now

• Teaching

Our research into teaching focuses on the quality of the teacher workforce, teacher training and ways to improve student outcomes through better teaching methods.

Facing Up To Maths Anxiety: How It Affects Achievement And What Can Be Done About It
David C. GearyJanuary 23, 2024AP61

Executive summary The mathematical competencies of students have a long-term influence on their employability and...

What Australia must do to lift flatlining student scores
Glenn FaheyDecember 6, 2023AFR

While Australian students have scored a mixed report card in the latest round of international...

Teaching classroom school
ACT inquiry into teaching foundations must focus on solutions
Trisha JhaDecember 4, 2023CANBERRA TIMES

It is a testament to the energy and dedication of teachers that hundreds of them...

The Need For Speed: why fluency counts for maths learning
Toni Hatten-RobertsOctober 19, 2023AP57

1. Introduction Australia has a problem in maths achievement which is shown in stark relief...

Conduct Becoming. The importance of the Behaviour Curriculum
Tom BennettOctober 5, 2023AP56

Introduction Behaviour in many schools in the UK is often far below what it could...

How to turn around Australian kids’ appalling classroom behaviour
Glenn FaheyOctober 2, 2023AFR

The dismal state of student behaviour has long been the elephant in the classroom. To...

Why Inquiry Based Approaches Harm Students’ Learning
John SwellerAugust 11, 2021AP24

This paper outlines the evidence and scientific reasons that inquiry based learning reduces academic performance....

Writing matters: reversing a legacy of policy failure in Australian education
Deidre Clary, Fiona MuellerJuly 28, 2021AP23

Generational decline in student achievement and teacher expertise in writing skills — the poor cousin...

Mind the Gap: Understanding the Indigenous education gap and how to close it
Glenn FaheyJune 24, 2021RR41

Indigenous education disadvantage remains among the most pressing and persistent public policy challenges in Australia....

Confronting Indigenous educational disadvantage: A Kimberley perspective
Lorraine HammondMarch 24, 2021AP20

Overcoming Indigenous education disadvantage is possible with the right teaching approaches and school policies. It...

Dollars and Sense: Time for smart reform of Australian school funding
Glenn FaheyDecember 1, 2020RR40

Australia is among the world’s highest-spending countries on schooling. Yet, the educational return on this...

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,...

Confessions of an Industrial Relations Club reporter
Michael StutchburyNovember 21, 2025AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW
A half-century on from stagflation, outdated workplace rules and union monopolies remain the biggest barrier...
Australian money
Double the debt and half the fiscal clues
Robert CarlingNovember 21, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH
The Labor government’s early surpluses now look like a flash in the pan and the...
A good budget means setting some rules and adhering to them
Robert Carling, Simon CowanNovember 15, 2025CANBERRA TIMES
There is a long history of fiscal rules, but the overall record is patchy, with...
Tolerance ends where darkest hatred begins
Peter KurtiNovember 12, 2025DAILY TELEGRAPH

Tolerance is often treated as an unqualified virtue. But even virtues have limits. When men...

SUPER WARS
Productivity Commission piles in to Labor’s schizophrenic war on big business
Michael StutchburyNovember 7, 2025AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

Industry Minister Tim Ayres rightly says that Australia is in competition for global capital as...

The hard truth: why the government should let this smelter fail
Simon CowanNovember 1, 2025CANBERRA TIMES
If Tomago meets the criteria for a taxpayer bailout, then so do thousands of other...
No Videos Available
Submission to Draft 2025-26 GenCost
February 2, 2026

The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) appreciates the opportunity to provide a submission to the...

Submission to Senate Inquiry into Illegal Tobacco Crisis in Australia
Michael StutchburyJanuary 15, 2026
The federal government should pause increases in tobacco excise to weaken the profit of the...
Submission to DCCEEW’s Solar Sharer Offer Consultation Paper 2025-26 
November 24, 2025

What evidence should inform the SSO window (timing and duration), including factors such as wholesale...

CIS Submission to IDSP Directions Paper
November 13, 2025

Question 4: Does the IASR provide the right baseline inputs for the proposed strategic planning...

Submission to AEMC’s Treatment of policies and costs in the ISP Consultation Paper 
November 6, 2025

Question 1: What are your views on AEMO’s current approach to incorporating jurisdictional targets and...

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...

No Podcasts Available

• Subscribe

Subscribe now and stay in the loop with our giving appeals, event alerts, newsletters and research updates.

We are always pleased to hear from you. If you have any questions or feedback, please contact us here:

+61 2 9438 4377
CIS Office
cis@cis.org.au
CIS Media
kpincott@cis.org.au