This study, conducted during the 1966-67 school year, examined the effect of variables derived from the cultural-institutional milieu and the teacher's attitudinal, professional, and academic background upon the existing practices in teaching social studies. 143 teachers in Michigan, Texas, Mexico, and Guatemala participated. Teachers were interviewed, observed, and profiled by various questionnaires, including Milton Rokeach's Dogmatism Scale, and a Teacher Checklist in which teachers were asked to recall, biweekly for 16 weeks, emphasis given in his classroom discussions to indicated ethnic groups and geographical areas. A third instrument asked questions relating to the teaching of controversial issues. The major conclusion of the study is that differences among samples in cultural-institutional and teacher characteristics were relatively unimportant to most aspects of the social studies program measured in the research. Some significant differences did appear in the analyses, however, and these were irrespective of the teachers' locations. For example, high scorers on the Dogmatism Scale or those who had less than 5 years of teaching experience demonstrated a tendency to take a more moderate position in their personal views on controversial issues than low scorers or those with 5 or more years of experience. (Author/DJB)