Exploring Saskatchewan Teachers’ Perceptions of and Experiences Navigating Transition Practices for Early Childhood and Early Elementary Autistic Students

The purpose of this qualitative interpretive study was to explore teachers’ perceptions of, and experiences navigating, transitions for autistic students in a Saskatchewan context. Seven individual interviews following a semi-structured interview guide were used to better understand classroom and special education teachers’ perceptions of the barriers/challenges and facilitating factors related to, and their experiences navigating, currently used transition practices for early elementary or primary autistic students in classroom and school environments (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). Using resilience theory (Luthar et al., 2000; Masten & Powell, 2003) and the ecological and dynamic model of transition as lenses (Rimm-Kaufman & Pianta, 2000), reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse gathered data by: (1) familiarising self with data, (2) coding data, (3) generating initial themes, (4) developing and reviewing themes; (5) refining themes; and (6) writing the final report (Braun & Clarke, 2022). Four major themes were constructed from the data: (1) honouring the children’s home, school, and community contexts; (2) orchestrating proactive, responsive, and gradual planning over time; (3) building relationships and collaborating with a team; and (4) functioning with provided and self-created policies and protocols. These themes revealed the importance of better understanding how teachers are positively and negatively contributing to autistic students’ transition outcomes and the need to create established protocols for transition planning in Saskatchewan schools. This study concludes with a discussion on both the practical and research implications of the findings, the limitations and strengths of the study and areas recommended for future research.