Lou Frey Institute

09/18/2026

Knights are helping shape the future of civics education nationwide. 🇺🇸

Stephen Masyada, director of the Lou Frey Institute, has been selected to serve on the 20-member framework committee for the civics portion of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for the 2032 assessment.

Terri Fine, professor emerita in the School of Politics, Security and International Affairs and former associate director of the Lou Frey Institute, will also contribute to the development of the assessment as a member of its 10-member content committee.

Together, their expertise in civic education, standards, teaching and assessment brings UCF’s work to the national stage — helping inform how students’ civic knowledge and skills are assessed across the country.

“I think it’s a recognition of the work we do here at the Lou Frey Institute and at UCF in civic education and the impact we’ve had on civics in Florida and in some cases nationally,” Masyada says.

🔗 Click the link to read more: https://tinyurl.com/yxv2z9u8

09/16/2026

Good morning, friends. We just wanted to share some exciting news. TWO folks from the UCF School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs in the UCF College of Sciences have been selected for the NAEP Civics Assessment revision project! LFI Director, Steve Masyada, will be on NAEP Civics Framework Development Panel. The NAEP Civics Framework Development Panel will develop recommendations to the National Assessment Governing Board on the content and design of the NAEP Civics Assessment Framework, including what changes should be made from the current assessment.

In addition, Terri Susan Fine Stenzler, Ph.D, the former associate director of the Lou Frey Institute and a long time faculty member in SPSIA, will be on NAEP Civics Content Advisory Group. The NAEP Civics Content Advisory Group will provide feedback to the Board and the NAEP Civics Framework Development Panel throughout the updating process, including initial guidance on how to implement the Board charge and ongoing feedback on framework documents.

We are thrilled that we have not one but two folks with connections to SPSIA and the College of Sciences on this big project, and the University of Central Florida is the only higher education institution with two faculty members on these panels, from what we can tell. Both Terri and Steve are excited to represent the School, the College, and the University on this effort, in collaboration with some of the leading figures in the civic education space. We look forward to shaping the national civic education conversation!

You can learn more about this effort here: https://www.nagb.gov/about-us/join-the-board/civics-framework-panel-nominations.html

09/11/2026

On this, the 25th Anniversary of 9/11, we honor and remember those who lost their lives. May their families and friends know peace.
If you teach 9/11, please consider the resources available from the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship at the Lou Frey Institute. Our Civics in Real Life page has multiple readings on 9/11 and Patriot Day. https://floridacitizen.org/civics-in-real-life/
And our civics360 site has an entire module devoted to 9/11. https://civics360.org/4-4-september-11-2001/

09/09/2026

As we approach the anniversary of 9/11 and honoring those who lost their lives on that day, I want to share a resource that the Lou Frey Institute in the UCF School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs and the UCF College of Sciences developed to meet state of Florida requirements for teaching 9/11, but is certainly useable beyond Florida. Civics360 is our student-facing website with readings in English, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole, animated and narrated videos, practice assessments, and more. For 9/11, we created 7 videos, appropriate for use in a middle school, high school, or college classroom. Please note that the timeline video does come with a content warning. We hope you find these useful. https://civics360.org/4-4-september-11-2001/

08/20/2026

Last week, LFI Director Dr. Stephen Masyada had a wonderful chance to represent the Lou Frey Institute, the UCF School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, and the UCF College of Sciences on a panel discussion on affordability and civic literacy. We appreciate the opportunity andwe hope that you find the discussion engaging. It's available now on Central Florida Public Media's Engage.

Florida voters rank affordability among their top concerns. Three policy experts discuss what government can change, what it can’t, and how to assess campaign promises.

08/18/2026

We are please to share a new piece authored by LFI's director and associate director in collaboration with Dr. Scott Waring.

http://www.jsser.org/index.php/jsser/article/view/6921
"Historically, civic education has been considered the panacea for many of society’s woes; however, simply teaching the content knowledge is not enough to safeguard its survival (Levine & Kawashima-Ginsberg, 2017). Engaging in a democracy takes practice and exposure to opportunities to develop the necessary skills for democratic maintenance. However, everyone’s engagement with their democracy is not the same. Authentic civic participation looks different based on the experiences of those engaging in it. With the consideration of student-lived experiences in the development of civic skills in mind, a question social studies teachers should have their students ask is, ‘how do I navigate my relationship with democracy?’. Simply saying America is great is not enough to build the capacity that policymakers are looking for to ensure the keeping of the republic. This is especially true in a polarized time such as ours. As is the case with any apprenticeship, training is necessary to develop the desired skill set. Consequently, civic educators must meet students where they are and build their capacity for engagement from there. Knowledge is necessary for foundational purposes, but students need to practice doing democracy by learning how to become deliberative and collaborative for the purpose of democratic problem solving. When students think about their relationship with democracy, how to navigate it, and what they want to derive from it, reflective tendencies emerge, which in turn affects their political efficacy, civic skill development, and confidence in democratic institutions. In teaching students to ask this question, they learn to prioritize what they want from their relationship with democracy and the means of fulfilling it. The authors of this article explore how asking ‘how do I navigate my relationship with democracy?' can serve as a transformative question for students, guiding them toward meaningful civic engagement in an era of polarization."

Preparing for Democracy: Civic Education and Democratic Practice

08/15/2026

Are you a publisher in US history or civics and government and seeking to expand your curricular materials? Looking for an experienced organization to partner and contract with, one with more than 15 years of curriculum and practice assessment development experience, as well as extensive professional learning expertise? The Lou Frey Institute, in the UCF School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs within the UCF College of Sciences brings a great deal to the table. We would love to hear from you and discuss what we might do. Email Steve Masyada at [email protected].

08/14/2026

Check out the new resources at Floridacitizen.org!

08/10/2026

How does public policy shape the everyday choices we make?

Join Dr. Stephen Masyada, director of the Lou Frey Institute at UCF, and a panel of Florida policy experts on Thursday, August 13, for the Central Florida Seen & Heard: Vote Your Budget event, hosted by Central Florida Public Media.

Together, they'll unpack the policies, priorities, and tradeoffs shaping issues including:
• The rising cost of food
• Housing affordability and property taxes
• Economic opportunity and the challenges facing new graduates entering today's job market

As an expert in civic education, Dr. Masyada brings his knowledge to a conversation focused on helping Floridians better understand the connection between public policy and everyday life.

Follow the link for full program details and to reserve your seat: https://www.cfpublic.org/central-florida-seen-heard-event-vote-your-budget

08/03/2026

For more than a decade, the Florida Joint Center for Citizenship, led by the Lou Frey Institute in the UCF School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, has provided civics educators in Florida and beyond high quality, on demand, free resources for K-16 civics and government. We are excited to share that, after so many requests for quality resources from our friends in the field, we are branching into American history. While we have only completed materials on Reconstruction, we will be working our way through the other high school US History Florida benchmarks throughout the year. We hope that you find this resource useful, no matter what state you are in. Be sure to visit Floridcitizen.org, register for free account, and explore the many other resources we offer. And let us know how we can meet your needs. https://floridacitizen.org/reconstruction/