The aim is to gain knowledge about the practitioners’ gender beliefs and their embedded values in preschool. The research questions are: ‘Which beliefs can be detected in the practitioners’ talk about gender?’ and ‘Are there any conflicting values, in that case which are they?’. Johansson (2002, 2007a, 2007b, 2009 & 2011) and Emilson (2007, 2008 & 2011) have studied the communication of values in teacher and child interactions. Another study showed teacher and child communication influenced by gender stereotypes (Eidevald, 2009). To understand practitioners’ gender beliefs in preschool, Bronwyn Davies’ (2003) concepts of category-maintenance and transgression inform the study. Data consists of 10 group interviews in eight Swedish preschools. The interviews were semi structured, recorded and transcribed. A content analysis is used. Ethical considerations were paramount to ensure that the study met the ethical requirements (Backe-Hansen, 2009).31Written informed consent for the practitioners’ participation was obtained. The beliefs detected in the practitioners’ talk about gender regarded values about duality, compensatory and neutrality beliefs. Foremost, the practitioners believe in gender neutrality and that preschool is an arena for exceeding traditional gender patterns. There were also conflicting values. On the one hand there seems to be a striving to implement the curriculum goal, i.e. to counterbalance traditional gender roles. On the other hand there seems to be a wish to respect the interests of the individual child, which sometimes causes a clash with gender transgression aims. By enhancing practitioners’ awareness of gender beliefs, the quality of values education on gender may increase in preschool.