[en] For dosimetry of external electron beams, related to radiation protection, two ICRU operational quantities are pertinent - the directional dose equivalent, H'(d,fi), for area monitoring, and the personal dose equivalent, Hp(d), for individual monitoring, at depth d and direction Q. Standard beta radiation fields from ⁹⁰Sr+⁹⁰Y, ²⁰⁴Tl and ¹⁴⁷Pm as well as nearly monoenergetic electron beams of average energy of 0.22, 0.34 and 1.0 MeV were used to study the variation of H'(0.07,Ω) and Hp(0.07) with the angle of incidence. Dose equivalent measurements were performed at the NIST, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, with two extrapolation chambers and with graphite-mixed MgB₄0₇:Dy thermoluminescent dosimeters on a PMMA slab phantom. For the beta radiation fields, a good agreement was found between the results and some experimental values available in the literature, which emphasized the reliability of the adopted experimental procedure. For the nearly-monoenergetic electron beams, results showed a considerable difference from the presently available Monte Carlo calculations, the angular spreading produced by the scattering of the electron beams in air, which is not considered in the calculations, may be the cause for this difference. Angular correction factors relative to the normal incidence, which were determined and reported in terms of H_p(0.07), were suggested to be used to verify the feasibility of dosimeters to measure H_p(0.07) and to study their energy and angular response. Results obtained with a Brazilian CaS0₄:Dy TL dosimeter showed that, although it was not effectively very thin, it appeared to be useful for personnel monitoring. Results also showed that a commercially available Panasonic dosimeter proved to be very limited to assess H_p(0.07).