Prevalence and drivers of boys’ engagement in artisanal gold mining in Kakamega County, Kenya

Artisanal gold mining is a significant source of family livelihood in certain parts of Kakamega County and it offers a labour market that undermines boys' school attendance in areas close to public day secondary schools. This study determined the prevalence of boys’ engagement in artisanal gold mining and examined the social and economic drivers of participation. The study was anchored in Economic Pressure Theory and Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and adopted a pragmatic paradigm with a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. The study was conducted in 18 public day secondary schools adjacent to mining areas in Kakamega East, Kakamega South, Kakamega Central, and Khwisero sub-counties. The sample consisted of 508 respondents: 322 boys identified through school-based screening, 32 boys in focus group discussions, 18 class teachers, 18 directors of studies, 18 deputy principals, 32 parents, 32 village elders, 24 mining officials, 8 ward administrators, and 4 quality assurance and standards officers. Purposive, stratified, proportional, and simple random sampling procedures were used as appropriate to the respondent categories. Quantitative and qualitative evidence was collected through questionnaires, interviews, focus group discussions, and document review. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and thematic analysis were conducted. The results indicated that 85.7% of the boys lived in artisanal gold mining areas and 78.6% reported personal involvement. School and community respondents also reported high levels of participation, while student prevalence indicators were closely consistent with teacher and deputy-principal estimates. Peer influence was the leading driver at 98.8%, followed by the allure of quick money at 89.4%. Two-thirds of the students had school-age relatives who mined instead of attending school. The study concluded that boys’ participation in artisanal gold mining was widespread and sustained by interacting household, peer, and community pressures. It recommends coordinated enforcement of child-protection laws, parental accountability, sustained community sensitisation, and viable household livelihood alternatives.