Family Structure and Education Attainment of Children in the Slums of Nairobi

Research shows that children living with two biological parents outperform those raised in different family structures. Less work has been done on this theme in the context of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, recent trends in SSA show that there is growing number of children who do not live with two biological parents in the region. Using data from the African Population and Health Research Center collected in the slums of Nairobi, this paper tests the hypothesis that two parent families are most favorable to schooling outcomes in Kenya. A logistic regression model is fitted. Controlling for socio-economic variables the effect of family structure on education attainment of children persists. Children in double parent households were 1.23 times more likely to be in the right grade for age compared to children in one parent households. The study calls for strengthening single parent households for better educational outcomes of the children.