This article presents the results of research on the teaching of sociology in secondary schools. Its purpose is to understand the place of sociological knowledge in the formation of secondary school students based on the perspective of teachers of sociology. Theoretical studies, the analysis of legal documents and interviews with teachers pointed to sociological knowledge as a fundamental component in the formation of critical students and citizens. The problematisation of this argument, starting from a broad critical conception of education and citizenship, suggests that teaching in this field is directed by the presupposition of schooling and the lack of preparation on the part of students to exercise citizenship critically. The sociology taught in schools, perceived as a privileged element in the constitution of these dimensions, ends up by underlining the young people's supposed lack of preparation, interest and political capacity for the exercise of this activity. In addition, it ignores other practices and social spaces which lead the human being to a critical formation for citizenship.
teaching of sociology; sociology in secondary education; critical citizenship
