This article reflects on the school’s role in the building of citizenship, especially in socially vulner-able contexts. We argue, and try to show, that effective participation in decision-making processesis a key tool to promote conditions that help in social transformation and the formation of activecitizenship. We offer a brief description of the current socio-educational scene, characterised bypoverty and school failure, both emerging from the profound social, economic and cultural crisesthat affected Argentina in 2001. The resulting need for social integration, links between State andcivil society, people’s empowerment and political development make it necessary for the school tobecome an institution of community development, promoting opportunities for political socialisa-tion and moral education. We describe a two-year action-research project in a secondary school inthe north east of Argentina that aimed to enhance the bond between the school and the communityand to democratise relationships in the school. Based on that experience, we critically analyse theway in which the school offers or denies opportunities for genuine participation and, as aconsequence, the way in which the formation of citizenship is managed, and make some recommen-dations for rethinking the school from a social and political point of view