Boarding schools have been in existence for centuries. The earliest representations of boarding schools were monasteries. Young boys were sent away to be educated in scriptural matters by clergymen far away from home. The schools were often run by offerings from believers, and the students did not pay tuition.
Boarding schools have adapted themselves to evolving social conditions through the years. During the expansion of the British Empire, boarding schools were built all over Great Britain. Children of colonial administrators were sent to study in boarding schools in the United Kingdom far away from the brutal native lands. In this way, British values would not elude them and would continue trickling down the following generations. The boarding schools of the time were also used to foster class relations among the attend students. Students of a lower caste could form bonds and learn from more privileged students with hopes of being of a higher rank in the future.
The spread of UK boarding schools for international students around the world intensified during colonial periods. In North America, boarding schools were known as residential schools and kick-started their use for cultural indoctrination. Residential schools were primarily used to ensure that children were as far as possible from their parents and to assimilate Native Americans into the dominant white culture. In conjunction with the church, the boarding schools were used to undermine and disrupt the continuation of the Native American culture. From religion to language, the children were prohibited to participate in their culture, and harsh punishments were dealt out to the non-compliant among them. It was at one point mandatory for a Native American child to attend the residential schools established by the colonial masters.
The parents of the Native American children were made to believe that their children would learn valuable life skills to use after school. Instead, all aspects of Aboriginal culture was being erased in their children. The schools were in poor condition. The education received was well below what was then average. The students were mostly taught practical skills. Girls were taught housekeeping while were taught agriculture and mechanical wok. They were being primed to work for their future white masters. There was widespread physical and mental abuse of the children. The schools were eventually shut down in the mid-20th century. The same technique was used to assimilate most children across most nations that were colonized, e.g., China and most African countries. Colonialism was the basis for most boarding schools existing around the world today.