Cattle Rustling and its Influence on Girl Child Educational Performance in Tiaty Constituency, Baringo County, Kenya

Cultural practices significantly impact academic performance worldwide, with disparities evident across different countries and regions. The main objective of the study was to establish the influence of cattle rustling on girls' educational performance among secondary schools at Tiaty Constituency in Baringo County. The research was based on the Push-Out Grounded Model Descriptive research design was used for this study. The target population comprised 1,008 female students in public secondary schools, 13 school principals, 2 Sub-County Directors of Education, 2 Quality Assurance and Standards Officers, and 2 Examination Officers in Tiaty Constituency. A sample size of 286 girls was obtained using Slovin's formula. Questionnaires were distributed to students while interviews were conducted with school principals, sub-county directors, quality assurance officers, and examination officers in the Tiaty Constituency. Simple random sampling was used to select the student participants, while purposive sampling was applied to select education officers. Both quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed, with quantitative data processed using SPSS Version 25 through descriptive statistics, linear regression, and correlation, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed using NVivo Version 12 to identify and report patterns for in-depth insights. The study revealed that 76% of girls were affected by cattle rustling, 62% missed exams due to it, and 72% reported academic disruption due to resettlement. Correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship (r = 0.297, p < 0.05), and regression analysis indicated cattle rustling explains 8.4% of the variance in girls’ education performance (Adjusted R² = 0.084). To address the impact of cattle rustling on girls’ education, the study recommends enhanced security, peacebuilding, counselling support, and coordinated interventions by stakeholders. It also suggests implementing economic empowerment programs and establishing monitoring systems to ensure effectiveness