Elementary students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD) often demonstrate characteristics that affect their success in a general education classroom. Although research demonstrates the benefits associated with students with EBD participating in general education classrooms, students who are not successful are often placed in more restrictive settings without a thorough examination of all the aspects of the student's program. Fully understanding all aspects could allow teams to design a multifaceted intervention to address barriers that impede the student's success. In particular, it is important to understand how the actions of both teachers and peers influence students with EBD and their perceived level of connectedness within the general education classroom. In this research, in-depth case studies were completed on three upper elementary students with EBD. This research was conducted during one school year and included a thorough analysis of student documents, the completion of student and teacher rating scales, direct observations in the classrooms, and semi-structured interviews with teachers, the students with EBD, and their peers. The analysis of data focused on the teacher actions, peer actions, perceptions of students with EBD, responses of students EBD, and classroom connectedness. Research findings suggest that students with EBD need teachers who listen to them and respond in ways that are appropriate to their individual needs. Peers in the classroom often mirrored the teacher's actions, demonstrating the unique role teachers have in facilitating peer actions to create a positive and supportive environment. Relationships were characterized by levels of closeness and conflict, which were directly related to the reported and observed teacher and student actions. Ultimately, students with EBD who perceived the student-teacher relationship as having higher levels of closeness and lower levels of conflict demonstrated better academic and behavioral outcomes. The perceptions of these students played a critical role in understanding each case. Therefore, a proposed structured teaming process, which could be used as part of a multi-faceted intervention, is discussed in order to ensure teachers are aware of the perceptions of students with EBD and steps are taken to increase the perceived levels of closeness in the general education setting. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]