This document reports on an inquiry into elementary school students' perceptions of important classroom rules and of the teacher's authority. Chapter 1 provides an overview to this verification inquiry, part of a larger study, Ecological Perspectives for Successful Schooling Practice. The next chapter reports on the findings on children's social-cognitive understanding of rules and authority. Students' perceptions of rules are analyzed by individual classroom and across classrooms, and students' perceptions of teacher authority are studied and reported on in two phases. Chapter 3 presents information on study participants (75 elementary school students), data collection methodology (interviews and questioning techniques), and analysis of data on rules and authority. A list of references is included, along with 18 tables presenting study data. (CJ)