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From the moment it became a discipline, in 1966, the teaching of sociology to French high school pupils aimed to develop a thoughtful approach and a critical viewpoint on social questions. A survey carried out with lower sixth-form pupils (11th grade) showed the extent to which this aim had been met. The teaching methods used were analyzed with the rival tension between the two models in mind. The first, involving the use of “social analysis,” was common up until the 1980s, whereas the second, which is more current these days, is closer to an introduction to sociology. These two approaches gave rise to debate among teachers and this, in turn, influenced the development of the curriculum, formally and in practice, and all the more so, since content proved particularly sensitive to the political dimension of social developments. Through this three-fold approach to the way in which students received this teaching, the scope and formal nature of the curriculum, and the curriculum in itself, the authors tried to illustrate the complexity of curriculum development and to highlight the driving forces behind it. .