The Learning Curve
Towards a Better Education System
Edited by Steven Schwartz
Paperback, 208 pages, $29.95
ISBN 9781923568129
December 2025 release
Published with the Centre for Independent Studies, Sydney.
Are we spending more on education only to learn less?
This provocative anthology brings together forty-six influential essays published with the Centre for Independent Studies — Australia’s leading independent voice on education reform. Written by education scholars, policymakers, and practitioners, these pieces offer a frank, evidence-based look at what’s working in Australian education — and what urgently needs to change.
From phonics to funding, maths to mental health, curriculum to campus free speech, the contributors challenge the orthodoxy, spotlight the neglected evidence, and offer practical reforms to help students and thrive.
Edited by Professor Steven Schwartz, this book is essential reading for anyone who believes that good intentions are not enough — and that serious education requires serious thought, courageous policy, and a return to the core business of schools: helping children learn.
Whether you’re a teacher, parent, policymaker, or simply someone who cares about Australia’s future, this book will sharpen your thinking, stir debate, and inspire change.
Contributors include Rebecca Birch, Robert Breunig, Jennifer Buckingham, Deidre Clary, Glenn Fahey, David C Geary, Kerry Hempenstall, Rob Joseph, Tim McDonald, Fiona Mueller, Kelly Norris, Andrew Norton, Corey Peltier, Sarah R. Powell, Steven Schwartz, John Sweller, Matthew Taylor and Joanna Williams.
About the Editor: Steven Schwartz, PhD AM, FASSA is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies. He writes mainly about education, freedom of speech and mental health. He is the author of more than a dozen books. Steven has served as Vice-Chancellor of Macquarie University in Sydney, Brunel University in London and Murdoch University in Perth. He also served as Chair of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Advisory Authority (ACARA). He was a Board member of Teach for Australia and is presently an Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne.
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