This study used a field survey to clarify the current state and characteristics of secondary school social studies lessons in Cambodia and explore the reasons that these lessons were being reproduced. The current state of the Cambodian social studies education system was observed through five classes broadly exploring different areas and subjects in January and February 2018. Four common characteristics were observed: (1) course objectives to understand normative and factual knowledge; (2) knowledge-based content; (3) activities to ask questions about the lesson contents; and (4) evaluations to ascertain whether the students can repeat the given knowledge. However, we presume that external situations influence the teachers’ choice of lesson structure in reproducing these common lessons. In addition, issues with teachers’ internal beliefs about the meta-cognition deficiencies in the lesson constructions and themselves must be addressed. Appropriate support is necessary based on these real-world teaching situations and school teacher culture.