| 释义 |
play group orig. U.S.|ˈpleɪgruːp|
[f. play n. 6 + group n. 3 a.]
a. Sociol. A group formed naturally by young children in a neighbourhood for play and companionship.
1909C. H. Cooley Social Organization (1913) iii. 24 The most important spheres of this intimate association and coöperation.. are the family, the play-group of children, [etc.]. Ibid., Nor can any one doubt the general prevalence of play-groups among children. 1939F. J. Brown Sociology of Childhood 177 Miss S. Wisletzky was able to distinguish three factors in the formation of play groups. 1947― Educ. Psychol. x. 220 The first play group is small,..of a transitory character, formed only to carry on a specific activity of the moment. Ibid., The activity itself is the basis for the organization of the play group. 1954J. A. C. Brown Social Psychol. of Industry v. 129 Cooley gave as typical examples of primary groups the family, the play-groups of children, and the neighbourhood group of elders in the village community. 1964Gould & Kolb Dict. Social Sci. 281/1 The dividing line between a clique or a play group and a gang is by no means clear and in practice such a group is whatever the researcher chooses to call it.
b. A group, freq. one organized informally by parents of pre-school children, formed with the object of providing supervised companionship for children. Also attrib.
1942C. Landreth Educ. Young Child i. i. 17 For this group probably the best immediate solution under 1942 conditions is parents' cooperative backyard play groups. 1962Guardian 6 Nov. 18/3 A pre-school play group which a group of mothers are organising. 1968D. Lawton Social Class, Lang. & Educ. iii. 24 Linguistic handicaps could be alleviated by separating the twins into different play-groups. 1969Times 5 Nov. 13/4 Three years ago there were many Members of Parliament who thought playgroups had something to do with drama. 1973B. Crowe Playgroup Movement v. 79 In some areas..the groups have not been allowed to start unless the play-group leader is ‘suitably qualified’. 1975H. Jarecki Playgroups 10 Vivid pictures of children and their parents in the playgroup setting. |