Teachers' Perceptions of Gambling-Related Risks Among Students With Special Educational Needs: An Exploratory Study

The prevalence of gambling among adolescents is rising, yet teachers often lack awareness of its associated risks. Special educational needs (SEN) students may experience increased vulnerability to gambling-related harms, although it remains unclear whether teachers recognise this.

To explore this issue, 15 UK mainstream secondary school teachers were recruited through purposive sampling and participated in online semi-structured interviews exploring their perceptions of gambling behaviours among typically developing and SEN students. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using an exploratory interpretive approach.

Reflexive thematic analysis identified three themes: understanding of gambling-related risks, SEN students' vulnerability and secondary concern. Teachers described gambling as a potential risk and perceived SEN students to be more vulnerable, citing cognitive and social deficits as contributing factors. However, gambling was generally viewed as less serious than other risky behaviours, such as substance use. Participants reported that limited training and knowledge contributed to gambling being deprioritised relative to other concerns, leaving them feeling underprepared to address gambling. Although participants perceived SEN students as particularly vulnerable, many expressed low confidence in recognising and responding to gambling-related risks.

This study underscores the need for targeted professional development to challenge misconceptions and strengthen teachers' competence in addressing gambling-related risks, particularly in supporting SEN students who may experience additional vulnerabilities in online contexts. It further calls for specialised research and tailored interventions within educational settings to ensure risks related to gambling are not overlooked.