This study uses boundary crossing in activity theory as one normative
framework for opening a deliberative inquiry in new discursive spaces
to elicit gender awareness in teachers’ practices. We illustrate this
framework by drawing from data in one European teacher education
project. Seven case studies were conducted and data were analysed
from a convenience sample of teacher educators who alongside
the authors acted as national coordinators for the project. Data
sources included questionnaires of initial ratings, case study reports,
transcripts of team meetings and interviews. A cluster analysis of
ratings was guided in a step-wise manner and yielded two distinct
cluster groups where one group of case studies had high ratings of
gender-specific settings. This finding was then used in a qualitative
interpretation of data sources for deeper contextual understandings
of teacher educators’ perspectives. Gender-specific settings had a
reported context of aspects in an activity system which three case
studies grasped as school-based planning, pedagogical innovation
and mentoring supports. The framework for analysis of higher order
gender aspects showed success in distinguishing case studies with
isolated views of gender. Findings also showed limitations in the
partially restricted framing of gender as an activity system at the
outset of the project and indicated in some instances, reluctant
teacher educators. The study underscores the explanatory power of
the framework adopted and opens up hypotheses for further research
and consideration.