blessiie-10/Childhood-Care-Stability-Opportunity-SA

Inspired by my experience growing up as a foster child, I created this project to explore how different living arrangements, household stability and access to resources shape children’s education and wellbeing in South Africa. # Childhood Care, Stability and Opportunity in South Africa An ethical, data-driven portfolio project examining how children's living arrangements, household resources, caregiver context and exposure to hardship are associated with education and wellbeing outcomes in South Africa. **Interactive dashboard:** Childhood Care, Stability and Opportunity in South Africa ## Research question How are children's parent co-residence, household resources, caregiver stability and exposure to adversity associated with education and wellbeing outcomes in South Africa? ## Personal motivation This project is rooted in my own experience of growing up as a foster child. I saw that children raised in different household circumstances can face very different levels of stability, support and opportunity. Some foster children I observed struggled to remain in school or became exposed to substance use, often within difficult household environments. I wanted to move beyond assumptions and use data to compare the experiences of children living with both biological parents, a mother only, a father only or neither biological parent. The aim is not to label one family structure as better than another, but to understand how household resources, caregiver stability and access to support are associated with children's outcomes. ## Why this project matters South African children grow up in many different family and care arrangements. This project does not rank biological, foster, adoptive or extended families. It focuses on the conditions that can support or constrain children: stable care, education access, food security, healthcare, social protection and household resources. ## Main dataset The primary dataset is the Statistics South Africa General Household Survey 2025, a nationally representative household survey covering education, health, social development, housing, services, food security and household resources. The initial analysis uses four observable parent co-residence gro …