El impacto de las prácticas de liderazgo inclusivo en la participación estudiantil y el sentido de pertenencia de la comunidad LGBT: un estudio en universidades del sector La Floresta

Abstract

This study based its research on the analysis of inclusive leadership practices within student participation and the level to which students belonging to the LGBTIQ+ community feel part of the institutions (sense of belonging) in the La Floresta sector where they study. Institutional discourse on inclusion indicates a significant disconnect with the real experiences of this group, creating limiting spaces in terms of academic well-being, participation, and sense of belonging for the LGBTIQ+ community. The article aimed to analyze the impact of inclusive leadership practices such as support for LGBTIQ+ student groups, identify existing anti-discrimination protocols, and measure LGBTIQ+ participation in student government bodies, academic activities, extracurricular groups, etc. It sought to establish the correlation between leadership-participation, leadership-sense of belonging, and mediation of participation in the leadership-belonging relationship in the academic environment. Methodologically, the study adopted a quantitative approach and a descriptive correlational design. The descriptive part focuses on students' perceptions of LGBTIQ+ diversity, inclusion, and participation, while the correlational part verifies whether the hypotheses are fulfilled and examines the relationship between the variables of inclusive leadership as an independent variable and LGBT participation and sense of belonging as dependent variables. Data collection was carried out using a structured questionnaire with closed questions and Likert scales. The total population was 38,801, and the sample consisted of 60 LGBTIQ+ students from universities in the La Floresta sector. The results discovered in the study show relatively low levels in the perception of leadership and participation. Hypothesis one, where inclusive leadership facilitates student participation, was verified, as was hypothesis two, where university authorities have a direct impact on the sense of belonging, and finally hypothesis three, where leadership only partially mediates the relationship between leadership and belonging.