The Role of Maternal Beliefs in Predicting Home Learning Activities in Head Start Families Family Relations, 51, 2, 176–184 Sandra Machida, Angela R Taylor, and Juhu Kim, 2002 What influences a mother, child, and family have on learning activities in low-income homes? What factors best predict parental involvement in home learning activities? The researchers examine the mediational role of parental beliefs, such as self-efficacy (“a parent’s belief that he or she possesses the required parenting skills to meet specific childrearing challenges”) and perceived control (a parent’s perception of personal control in determining their child’s personality and development), on their child’s home experience in 306 Head Start children and their mothers The sample was 51% Mexican American Machida et al interviewed the mothers in the fall and spring of the Head Start program’s academic year During the fall interviews, mothers were asked to respond to survey items, and in the spring they were asked to complete a home learning environment profile The survey and profile allowed the researchers to measure maternal education, family stress, child temperament, maternal beliefs, and home learning activities Interviews were conducted one-on-one in either the mother’s home or at the Head Start center Machida et al.’s research partially confirmed the belief that parent self-efficacy mediates the effect of child temperament that will then impact the family’s home learning activities Another finding is that family stress has an indirect impact on the home learning environment through the mother’s self-efficacy This research fails to confirm the role of perceived control in predicting home learning activities The findings in this study help educators understand how people and families in different situations deal with parenting and the unique situations that arise in their homes GENNA GURKOFF The Dalton School and New York University New York, New York, United States Interactional Differentiation in the Mixed-Ability Group: A Situated View of Two Struggling Readers Reading Research Quarterly, 43, 228–250 Deborah Poole, 2008 Do homogenous or heterogeneous grouping make a difference for struggling readers in late elementary school? Grouping has been a controversial topic in a number of school districts in the United States 150 TESOL QUARTERLY