Note de synthèse

The ethnographic approach in educational sociology: school and community, educational institutions, classrooms. - For twenty years, new approaches have been developed in educational sociology : some appeal to the interactionalist tradition, some to the renewed comprehensive sociology. As these approaches become mature, new scientific objects are formed and constitute a theoretical methodological and political network which is presented here in its complexity. This paper delivers the first two parts of a comprehensive study : — Agnès Henriot studies the relation between school and community : obsolete problematics of a research area revival. — Jean-Louis Derouet discusses a sociology of educational institutions and the difficulties met with the creation of a new scientific object. Next issue will present the third part : a paper from Régine Boyer about the classroom, and a general conclusion that will endeavour to bring out the tendencies and the differences which appear in this stream.