The social balance as a communication tool for the relationships between schools and cooperative company

Many changes have interested the educational sector in the second half of the nineties. One of the most important changes is represented by a new form of culture that indicates the transformation from the bureaucratic model to an innovative managerial system, typical of the private sector. In Italy, this process is inspired by the reformist trend of the "new public management" that has characterised many countries of common law. In the educational regulations, an innovative law has introduced school autonomy. The logical consequence of autonomy is represented by the need to report to the community the results obtained based on the choices, activities, and resources. In the modernisation of the educational sector, great attention is paid to the systems of accountability through drafting the social balance sheet. School institutions maintain numerous relationships with cooperative enterprises. Therefore, the social balance sheet is an important communication tool for informing the internal and external stakeholders of the results of collaborating with social cooperatives