In recent years, an increasing number of people with intellectual disability (ID) is connected to the Internet (Jenaro et al., 2018). The easy access to certain technological devices such as mobile phones and tablets has contributed to reducing – but not to eliminate – the digital gap between this group and the general population. The Internet has multiple benefits for the society as a whole and specifically for individuals with ID, including social participation and socialisation, leisure, self-determination and access to information (Chadwick, Wesson, & Fullwood, 2013). However, greater use of the Internet can also lead to some negative experiences and a misuse of this technology (Jenaro et al., 2018).

Concerning individuals with ID, the inherent characteristics of the disability itself, such as deficits in conceptual, practical and social skills (Schalock et al., 2011), can make this population more vulnerable to the risks associated to the Internet (e.g. cybervictimisation, cyberbullying). A better understanding of their usage patterns will help to identify the inappropriate online behaviour and will help to prevent and to address the risks encountered on the Internet. Research evidence with regard to Internet access and use by people with ID is still scarce (Lussier-Desrochers et al., 2017). However, some authors have noted that despite these people use the Internet to a lesser extent than the general population, they seem to be at more risk of experiencing or being involved in undesirable online behaviours (Buijs, Boot, Shugar, Fung, & Bassett, 2017; Wells & Mitchell, 2014). Individuals with ID gain online access primarily for social networking (Chiner, Gómez-Puerta, & Cardona-Moltó, 2017; Molin, Sorbring, & Löfgren-Martenson, 2017) and the way they engage in these social interactions may lead to unwanted situations such as online harassment, sexual solicitation, and scams (Lough & Fisher, 2016). In many cases, the response to these negative effects is the overprotection and the need to exert some kind of control over the access to the Internet of individuals with ID (Seale, 2014), perpetuating the digital gap between them and the general population and preventing people with ID from fully participating in the society.

In this digital era, the role that teachers play to promote a safe and meaningful Internet usage is crucial since they can work directly with students with ID. Teachers are in a good position to provide instruction and guidance on the right use of the Internet and to implement programmes that develop not only digital literacy skills but also other relational, emotional and social skills that underlie the correct use of this technology (Wells & Mitchell, 2014). To that end, teachers need to be able to identify students’ preferences and behaviours when they gain online access. This way they will be ready to provide students with ID with the most convenient support to ensure their digital participation and inclusion.

The current study explores the use of the Internet by students’ with ID and their online behaviour from the perspective of their teachers. Specifically, the objectives of this work are:

1) To know the frequency of use and the type of activities that students with ID undertake when they use the Internet.

2) To identify the undesirable online behaviour in which students with ID have been involved.

3) To compare mainstream teachers and special education teachers’ responses with regard to the type of activities and the online behaviour of students with ID.

Participants In the study participated 217 regular and special education teachers from the Valencian Community, Spain. Teachers were selected using a stratified cluster sampling, taking the province (Alicante, Castellón and Valencia) and the type of school (primary, secondary and special education) as strata to sort out the schools. Once the schools were selected (n = 138), six teachers from each school were asked to participate in the study. The final sample comprised 141 teachers from mainstream schools (65%) and 76 teachers from special schools (35%). The majority of the participants were female (n = 166, 76.5%) and had an average teaching experience of 16.89 years (SD = 9.70). Instruments A questionnaire was designed for this study and included questions related to the frequency of use of the Internet by students with ID and the type of activities they engage in when going online (e.g. reading, social networking, gaming). The instrument also comprised a list of undesirable online behaviours (e.g. bullying, receiving or sending inappropriate online content, sexual harassment) that students with ID may encounter when gaining online access. Participants had to report whether their students had ever suffered and/or conducted any of these behaviours or they were unaware of them. Additional background characteristics were included in the questionnaire as well (e.g. gender, age, years of teaching experience, type of school). Procedure A cross-sectional survey design was conducted and counted with the approval of the Ethics Committee of the university (procedure UA-2017-11-15). Participants were asked to give informed consent prior to completing the survey. A print version of the questionnaire was sent by post to the selected schools and they were asked to return them completed via a prepaid envelope a month later. Likewise, an e-mail was sent to the schools informing about the purpose and relevance of the study and requesting their collaboration. A follow-up e-mail was sent two weeks later. The time taken to complete the survey was 10 minutes. Descriptive and non-parametric statistics (Phi coefficient) were carried out to analyse participants’ responses with regard to the use of the Internet and the online behaviours of students with ID and to establish a relationship between those responses and the type of school where teachers work (mainstream and special schools).

Students with ID seem to use the Internet moderately. More than half of the teachers (57%) state that students with ID gain online access between two and three hours per day, while 25% of the participants think that they go online less than an hour per day. The most common online activities are watching videos, films or TV (93.1%), listening to music (78.7%), chatting with friends (73.1%), gaming (70.4%), and social networking (59.3%). Significant differences were found between teachers at mainstream schools and teachers at special schools. The latter report a greater use of the Internet for chatting with friends and social networking than their mainstream teachers. Regarding undesirable online behaviours, most of the participant teachers report to be unaware of students with ID being involved in such behaviours. However, from those reporting them, they state a higher prevalence of experiencing bullying (32.3%), being contacted by strangers (24.9%), being asked for personal information (23.5%) and being threatened online (28.1%). Teachers also report students with ID engaging in undesirable online behaviours such as bullying others (18%), contacting with strangers (24.4%), asking for personal information (18.9%), threatening others and being involved in copyright infringement and illegal downloading (18.9%). Teachers at special schools report significantly greater undesirable online behaviours of their students with ID compared with mainstream teachers. Findings from this study reveal a worrying prevalence of students with ID that are involved in undesirable online behaviour, as reported by their teachers, which is in line with previous studies (Didden et al., 2009). Teachers’ reports should be contrasted with individuals with ID’s own experiences and statements to confirm this prevalence, while training programmes should be launched to provide teachers with the strategies to identify, to prevent and to address those undesirable online behaviours.

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