This report describes the results of an investigation into the status of American secondary social studies education, which involved (1) a national survey of secondary social studies teachers to gather their perceptions of the field, their outlook for the future, and information on the use of film/video resources; (2) interviews with state and local social studies supervisors to look at their perceptions of the field, the knowledge and attitudes of teachers, and the communication system through which teachers learn about innovations; (3) telephone interviews with local instructional television programming personnel to gather data about the broadcasting perspective; and (4) an analysis of the film and video resources available in secondary social studies. Findings cover teacher characteristics, the social studies curriculum, and teacher autonomy. In addition, teachers' attitudes toward the field of social studies, perceptions of trends and objectives, and use of video/film resources are discussed as they vary with years of teaching, subject, and grade level taught. A summary and two references are listed. Appendices include data gathering instruments. (LMM)