Influence of Ethnocentric Culture as a Raiding Motif on Psycho Social Stability of Students in Day Secondary Schools in Baringo County of Kenya

Ethnocentrism is the evaluation of other people’s cultures based on ones’ skewed standards, customs and beliefs and seeking to assert one’s own inherent superiority and prejudice on others. Ethnocentrism has been linked to sustained protracted inter- community conflicts. It has also been the foundation of construction of tribal identities, social isolation, out-group hostilities and creation of inter- social boundaries. The pastoralist communities in Baringo county have had a long history of armed conflicts which revolve around natural resources such as water, land boundaries and pasture. The limited resources, proliferation of small arms, feeling of marginalization and values attached to successful raids has made the situation more complex. The government in an effort to address these conflicts has established more day secondary schools to enhance access to education and reduce the raiding culture among the communities in Baringo County. However, as much as this is encouraged students in these secondary schools still suffer psychosocial instability emanating from school and home environments. While at home the students are frequently exposed to hostilities from raiding neighboring communities, some have lost their livelihoods, lost their parents and their schools have been closed due to frequent raids and fear of attacks from cattle rustlers and bandits. They have also been victims of displacement and trauma caused by witnessing incidences of violence and at times death. Therefore, this study sought to establish the influence of ethnocentric culture as a raiding motif on psycho-social stability of students in day secondary schools in Baringo county, Kenya. The study utilized the descriptive survey design. The research was conducted on a sample of 360 students from eighteen sampled day secondary schools. The data collection methods were students’ questionnaire. To validate the instruments, piloting was conducted on two (2) day secondary schools with similar characteristics to the sampled schools but which were not included in the actual study. Data was analyzed with the aid of a computer programme which is the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0 for windows. ANOVA and t-test were used to test if there was a statistically significant mean difference in the students’ response on the influence of ethnocentrism as a raiding motif on psychosocial stability of students in day secondary schools and to determine whether to reject or accept the study hypothesis. All analysis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study found out that ethnocentric elements such as the feeling of marginalization, proliferation of small arms, and social praises related to successful raids, helped sustain protracted raiding motif and contributed to students’ psychosocial instability in day secondary schools in Baringo county. The study recommends a more robust inter-community peace sensitization programmes