The investigation of opinions of nursery school eachers who are teaching at the centre of Ankara relation to five and six-years -old children' level of knowledge about conceptual developments and to what extent the activities that improve conceptual

Ill SUMMARY This research emphasizes the reflection of pre-school teachers, working in the city centre of Ankara, on their level of the knowledge about the concept development of 5-6 year-old-children. The study also investigates the involvement degree of improving activities in the education program for the concept development. The sample set of the study is determined according to the quantitative data gathered from the Ankara Head Office of National Education, which is thought to represent the sample universe; independent mothercare schools under the Ministry of National Education, public and private mothercare classes under the Primary Education, and applied mothercare classes under The Vocational Schools. A total of 300 pre-school teacher, 215 of which are from public institutions and 85 of which from private institutions are asked to fill the "Questionnarie Form" which formed in conformity with the related literature and specialists' views. Percentage and frequency distributions are applied for explaining the survey data. The answers given for the second part of the survey and some of the demographic information are analyzed with chi-square testing. Research findings can be summarized as follows; the majority of teachers hold bachelor's degrees. Most of the teachers' knowledge on the concept developments is gained on their profession.IV Numbers, colors, shapes, feelings, and opposites, respectively, are determined as the most frequently used concepts in the studies on the concept development. Meanwhile, concepts such as; time, directions, numbers, shapes and their opposites are determined as the most difficult concepts for the pupils to gain. The study also reveals main reasons for difficulty met by teachers in bringing the cognitive concepts to children, which are determined as; the level of readiness of children, the inadequacy of the necessary materials, and the overcrowded classroom environments. The study also suggests that teachers, most frequently, use the "daily reading-writing application" as a supplementary method in the studies on concept development. As the least frequently used methods, routine activities and musical practices are determined. The research also discovers that teachers evaluate children's cognitive achievements via comparing children's own processes with the domain for concept development, which are based on teachers' knowledge on the child development and education.