Importance of certain female entrepreneurial competencies in secondary entrepreneurship or small business management classes

The purpose of this study was to compare responses from small business experts and university business educators as to what competencies are important for female entrepreneurial success with small business course content being taught in secondary schools to develop lists of competencies for use in curriculum planning for future secondary entrepreneurship classes.;Questionnaires were mailed to the three groups surveyed; experts in small business administration, university entrepreneurship educators, and secondary entrepreneurship teachers.;Responses were computer processed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The results of the data analyses were reported in tables and ranked by means. T-tests were utilized to determine if significant differences at the.01 level existed between the surveyed groups' perceptions of the importance of the 89 entrepreneurial competencies. The following comparison were made and findings reported: (1) Business experts' perceptions of the importance of the 89 competencies to female entrepreneurial success were compared to teachers' perceptions of the importance of the competencies in the content of secondary entrepreneurship classes. Significant differences were found in the areas of managerial, marketing, and accounting competencies. (2) University educators' perceptions of the importance of the 89 competencies to female entrepreneurial success were compared to teachers' perceptions of the importance of the competencies in the content of secondary entrepreneurship classes. No difference was found. (3) University educators' perceptions of the importance of the 89 competencies to female entrepreneurial success were compared to their perceptions of the importance of the competencies to male entrepreneurial success. Significant difference was found in managerial competencies. (4) Experts' perceptions of the importance of the 89 competencies to female entrepreneurial success were compared to their perceptions of the importance of the competencies to male entrepreneurial success. Significant difference was found in managerial competencies. (5) Teachers' perceptions of the importance of the 89 competencies in the content of secondary entrepreneurship classes were compared to their perceptions of the importance of the competencies to entrepreneurial success. Significant difference was found.