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Governmental Teaching Ideals and Material Ambitions: On the Swedish History of the School Desk 1865–1981. From 1865 up to 1981 Swedish national authorities issued regulations on design of school desks and furnishing of classrooms. This article investigates what teaching ideals that were expressed in these regulations and how they have changed over time. The article shows that the teaching ideal for the early decades of the study period where teacher centred, resulting in regulations aiming for school desks and classrooms where pupils could sit and listen for long periods of time. From the 1920’s up to the beginning of the 1960’s the regulations held on to teacher centred ideals while the desks used in schools were designed to facilitate variation and cooperation between pupils. Regulations from the last decades of the study show strong changes in teaching ideals. Desks and furnishing now should make interaction and cooperation between pupils easy, and the teacher were to be more of a mentor than a lecturer.