Peter Welch

at Cultural Competency

Peter Welch has spent his career working in very different kinds of schools all over the world. This professional journey has encompassed experiences in national, international, private, state, wealthy, impoverished, boys, girls, coeducational and residential schools.

After studying at Cambridge University, he worked first as a voluntary English teacher in Lesotho and then Ghana in Africa before teaching History in the UK and then moving overseas. He has been the Head of IB World Schools in Thailand, Turkey and Finland. In the summer of 2019, he will follow Dr Robert Brindley as the next Director of the American International School of Bucharest. This will be Peter’s third headship within the CEESA region, this close family of schools that it is such a pleasure to work with.

Peter’s educational passion is exploring the profound relationship between culture, how we learn, and how we see our world. He originated research and developed a practical tool for schools to understand how a student’s culture maps to their learning and communication preferences. The Council of International Schools adopted this model and, working in partnership to improve and validate the research, this survey is now global, involving thousands of international students.

Peter is currently on a year-long sabbatical. This precious time has included some adventurous travel with his family, some volunteering (cleaning up after orangutans!), home-schooling his daughter, learning the ukulele and (finally!) finishing his book on cultural differences – ‘Who on Earth Are You? – How to Thrive in a Mixed-Up World’.