Sustainable Lifespan Learning Leadership: Building Age-Inclusive, Digitally Supported Learning Ecosystems for Engagement, Belonging, and Wellbeing

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-797-2_28How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Educational Leadership; Lifelong Learning; Healthy Ageing; Digital Inclusion; Intergenerational Learning; Sustainability Leadership; Wellbeing

Abstract

Population ageing increases demand for learning that sustains capability, participation, and wellbeing, yet later-life initiatives often remain fragile because of unequal access, digital exclusion, and limited multi-stakeholder governance. This study examined how educational leadership and sustainable management practices shaped outcomes in a digitally mediated lifelong-learning ecosystem for midlife and older adults. An embedded mixed-methods design combined pre–post surveys and participation analytics (N = 182; mean age = 61.4, range 45–82) with interviews involving delivery personnel (n = 24) and organizational stakeholders (n = 12). Standardized multivariable models tested the hypotheses, while thematic analysis explained the observed pathways. Digital inclusion infrastructure predicted stronger engagement and digital confidence gains (2.9 to 3.6; β = 0.41 and 0.33, p < .001), equity supports improved retention (β = 0.24, p = .003), and intergenerational learning strengthened belonging (β = 0.29, p = .001). Continuity predicted wellbeing gains (+0.26 SD; β = 0.22, p = .007), while boundary-spanning leadership supported partnership stability and institutionalization. The study proposes the Sustainable Lifespan Learning Leadership framework for designing and evaluating age-inclusive learning ecosystems.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Chi Che
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/14
TI  - Sustainable Lifespan Learning Leadership: Building Age-Inclusive, Digitally Supported Learning Ecosystems for Engagement, Belonging, and Wellbeing
BT  - Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Lifespan Innovation (ICLI 2026) national Conference on Lifespan Innovation
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 275
EP  - 285
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-797-2_28
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-797-2_28
ID  - Che2026
ER  -