1 Title: Students’ Perceived Experience of Disruptive Behavior in Schools. A Comparative Study between Schools in the US and Norway. Name of authors: Professor Liv Duesund* University of Oslo, Department of Special Needs Education Address: Helga Engs hus, 4 th floor, Sem Saelands vei 7, 0371 Oslo, Norway E-mail: liv.duesund@isp.uio.no Phone: +47 41497909 PhD student Magnar Oedegaard University of Oslo, Department of Special Needs Education Address: Helga Engs hus, 4 th floor, Sem Saelands vei 7, 0371 Oslo, Norway E-mail: magnar.odegard@isp.uio.no Phone: +4790629218 Abstract This article reports findings from a comparative study of disruptive behaviors in schools in Norway and the United States. The study investigated students’ perceived experience of the phenomenon during class. In total, 1,153 students participated in the study (544 in Norway and 609 in the US). The majority of students in both countries claimed to have been disturbed during the last week and also said that this occurred one or more times every day. Discrepancies in the results were found in that American students report a higher prevalence of disruptive behavior, while Norwegian students seem to find disruptive behavior more disturbing than their American counterparts. Introduction Social interactions between students in classrooms can take several forms. Teachers can establish procedures, such as cooperative activities, as means of improving the learning of the material at hand. Social interactions can also be designed to teach children how to better get