Italy’s educational system is predominately public.  Besides schools for infants, only 5% of students attend private schools, and these long-standing, traditional private institutions are characterized as denominational.  Other than the public and private sectors, new recent laws allow for citizens, family members and other social entities to directly intervene in the management of educational services.  This new development of social participation in Italy allows for avenues of growth, probably bringing the Italian educational system to new heights, involving families to the point where they are privy to services offered, and, therefore, giving schools a greater competitive edge for attracting students.
What are the institutional and organizational characteristics of these emerging schools?
How do these schools differentiate themselves from the institutional models, i.e. state and denominational/private?
More specifically, what are the characteristic aspects in relation to finalism, governance, stakeholder relations and teacher management?
This paper responds to the above questions through an online questionnaire completed by a sample of approximately 200 Italian schools. In particular, this survey looked at the management of educational activities, student, family, and stakeholder relations, human resources and governance, or rather the decision-making system and accountability.