This article identifies the challenges of developing active citizens based on the latest revised social studies curriculum in Malawi (2015) in the context of Malawi's secondary school classrooms. By using collected data from interviews with teachers and students and classroom observation, the paper examines the extent to which social studies empowers students to express their opinions. The analysis identifies three issues: 1. both teachers and students perceive social studies teaching as 'easy'; 2. teachers expect students to be active in classroom practices but to be obedient outside classes and 3. individualistic values in textbooks could conflict with the values of "Umunthu" in Malawi. The paper concludes that classroom practices might dissuade students to be critical thinkers, thereby fostering obedient citizens and limiting students' potential power to tackle social issues.