Socio-scientific issues (SSI) are said to be vehicles for raising students’ interest in science, but also for strengthening generic skills as team-work, problem-solving and media literacy. At the same time these skills are presumptions for successful work with SSI. How well equipped are students from homes with foreign background and low socio-economic status for working with SSI? They often have lower grades in science subjects. Authentic media texts may constrict bilingual students and it is pointed out that students from families with low socio-economic status are advantaged by strict framing. The purpose is to compare how teachers and students in mono- and multi-cultural schools work with and experience SSI. The paper will discuss a) teachers’ role taking in the classroom; b) how the students experience and deal with autonomous group work; c) to what degree and how the students use other sources than textbooks. Data from a quantitative and a qualitative study is presented and compared in the paper. Secondary school classes have worked with SSI-tasks. The quantitative study involves questionnaires from 1614 students. The qualitative study involves classroom observations from one mono- and one multicultural school.