The teaching of sociology in middle school in Sao Paulo

This article reports some results of exploratory research conducted among teachers of Sociology in middle school, from public and private schools of the city of Sao Paulo, in 2009. The interviews, conducted by students of Social Sciences graduate course of the Universidade Nove de Julho (Uninove) by means of questionnaires had as objective to investigate whether the teaching of Sociology would contribute to the achievement of the purposes of the middle school education provided by the LDB, particularly the development of citizenship and critical thinking. The statements suggest a conception of critical as cognitive ability as an end in itself and a conception of citizenship as individual activity.