This paper examines the relationship among South African children between family structure and schooling outcomes (current enrollment in school, highest grade completed, and number of grades completed per year) and investment in education (school fees). Family structure has important effects for blacks and coloureds; in particular, children who live with neither parent are consistently disadvantaged. For whites, family structure has little or no effect on schooling outcomes. Racial disparities in schooling outcomes largely disappear when background factors are controlled for. The results suggests that variations in family structure are a contributing factor to continued racial inequality in educational
attainment in post-apartheid South Africa.