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COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT ATTRACTION TO AN ENGLISH COURSE: THE ASSOCIATIONS AMONG STUDENT GENDER, THE GENDER OF THE AUTHOR OF ASSIGNED READING, AND THE STYLE OF READING

This article reports the results of a factorial experiment that investigated the reactions of male and female students to a hypothetical English course offered at the community college level. The participants (N = 136) consisted of students enrolled in English 101 courses at four community colleges in a southeastern state. The independent variables were gender of the student, gender of the author assigned, and the type of reading assigned (narrative, expository). The dependent variable was a composite rating of student attraction to the English course. Females rated the course more favorably than males, and testing detected an interaction effect between gender of the student and the gender of the writer. Females preferred female authors, and males were attracted to male authors. There also was an interaction effect between gender of the author and style of writing. Participants preferred female authors and expository style. The findings have practical implications for educational programs, English instructors, and future research.