According to the curriculum the Swedish school system should aim to let the democratic values permeate the school as a whole, and the school should assume each student's individual abilities in teaching. (Lpo -94) Democratic education is what the pragmatist John Dewey strongly encourages in his book Democracy and Education, which is why he stands for the theoretical framework of the concept of democracy in the school context. This study aims to examine whether and if so, the social roles in a classroom can affect students' opportunities for learning. The main research questions asked were:

• How can the social roles affect students' opportunities for learning in a classroom?
• How do students perceive that the social roles in the classroom affect their opportunities for learning?

This has been investigated by two complementary perspectives.  Partly thru a student perspective to raise the students 'own experiences, and partly from an outside perspective to show how I, as an observer can see that social roles affect students' opportunities for learning. The study encompasses three observation opportunities in a grade three, and six interviews with students from this class. The results of the study showed that social roles have significant impact on individuals' opportunities for learning in the classroom. The study reaches the conclusion that the social roles are not something that is possible to, or even desirable to ignore. However, it is important to be aware that different social roles in a classroom have different conditions. An education that is guided by democratic values will ensure that all pupils in the widest extent possible are given the same opportunities to learn and develop.