This paper examines the changes in the educational attainment of three successive generations in South Africa: grandparents, parents and children. Many of the results accord with widely known facts, such as the educational
penalty faced by individuals who are African or who live in rural areas or in female-headed households. Similarly, the larger impact of mothers education on child outcomes relative to fathers education accords with previous work, although it is interesting that this gender difference is only sizeable and significant for relationships between the second and third generation. Key findings in this paper include the fact that persistence has increased with subsequent generations.