Examination of mathematics concepts in 365 days storybooks published by the ministry of national education

This study was designed to examine the role of children's literature in supporting mathematical concept development in preschool education. The texts in the 365 Days Storybooks series published by the Ministry of National Education were analyzed in line with the mathematical concepts defined in the Turkish Century Education Model Preschool Education Program. In this context, the main purpose of the study is to determine to what extent the mathematical concepts in these storybooks are included at the qualitative level and in which categories they are concentrated. Document analysis method, one of the qualitative research designs, was adopted in the study and the data were collected through the "Mathematical Concepts Evaluation Form" created by the researcher. The data obtained were analyzed with the content analysis technique; mathematics concepts were classified according to their frequencies and interpreted in relation to the program outcomes. As a result of the analysis, a total of 587 mathematical concepts were identified in the 53 storybooks analyzed. It was observed that these concepts were most concentrated in the categories of "direction/location in space", "number/counting" and "time", whereas concepts such as "geometric shape", "quantity" and "size" were represented in more limited and indirect ways. The findings suggest that the stories provide natural and meaningful contexts that have the potential to support children's mathematical thinking skills during their cognitive development. However, some concepts