The importance of student-teacher relationships is well established. However, research suggests that students in special education tend to experience lower quality student-teacher relationships than their peers in general education. Of particular importance is the developing research indicating that students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBDs), and especially females, are at the highest risk of poor relationships with teachers. The purpose of this study is to examine whether the presence of an emotional disturbance (ED) label may impact teachers' perceptions of relationships with adolescents who exhibit behavior that meets ED criteria. A correlational research design with a between-subjects analysis of the data will be used to examine this issue. The study utilizes the cultural ecological framework and a social justice lens to better understand the results and differences between teacher attitudes toward students with and without the ED label and across genders. [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://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]