Guiding students on a multicultural campus away from home

Abstract

The United World Colleges of the Atlantic and Adriatic in Wales and Italy are two international boarding schools, where adolescents between the age of sixteen and nineteen from all over the world come to live and work together for two years [1]. When adolescents leave home to live and study abroad at such an international boarding school, a need arises for a well-developed pastoral care system. This in order to accommodate the emotional and social problems that students may experience when leaving home and when confronted with cultures different from their own. Therefore, the United World College of the Atlantic and Adriatic offer different facilities to support the daily lives of their student body. This thesis provides an insight in the specific pastoral care facilities offered by the United World College of the Atlantic and Adriatic and the student body’s perception of these facilities. Finally, this thesis offers some recommendations on what could be done to improve the pastoral care system in both Colleges.