This paper provides a focus on the successful and positive facets of schooling from a series of case studies. The study involved 13 researchers in over 500 hours of intensive classroom observation of 20 exemplary teachers and a comparison group of non-exemplary teachers. The qualitative information was complemented by quantitative information obtained from the administration of questionnaires assessing student perceptions of classroom environment. Interpretation of data included comparisons made between the actual classroom environment of exemplary teachers and the following: (1) the actual environment of comparison groups from past research; (2) the classroom environment preferred by exemplary teachers' classes; and (3) the actual classroom environment of non-exemplary teachers of the same grades in the same school. It was found that exemplary teachers' classes can be differentiated from non-exemplary teachers' classes in terms of the psychosocial environment as perceived by students. Also the classroom environments created by the exemplary teachers generally were markedly more favorable than those of non-exemplary teachers. Two of the instruments used in the study are included in the appendix. (RT)