This paper presents a theoretical research into the role of school in the modern western society of the 21st century characterized by social inequality. It takes as a central reference of theoretical analysis the contributions of some contemporary educators of relevance such as Philippe Meirieu, Jan Masschelein, Maarten Simons and Gert Biesta. The conceptual categories selected are those linked to the theory of school culture, namely: material school culture in its space-time dimension, school culture symbolic, teaching, learning and educational research. In this sense, a conceptual review of the role of teachers (from their teaching and research) in this unequal social structure is realized in terms of the possibility that the school will again be the space-time recovery of the right to education as a public and national good. It is understood that school can restore its democratizing state function if it manages to restore free time as the one necessary for people to succeed in free, participative and cooperative education. Keywords: School culture, teaching, learning, educational research, social inequality