臺灣近代教室風景的成立：以日治時期公學校課桌椅為中心

The Making of Modern Classroom in Taiwan: The Role of School Desks and Chairs in Colonial Public Elementary Schools

本文以日治時期公學校課桌椅為核心，探討臺灣近代學校教室風景的形成歷程，揭示物質文化與教育理念、學校管理及學生身體健康之間的關係。
近代式學校的特徵之一是集眾教學的上課形態。集眾教學需要配套的時間、空間配置。在教室空間中，前方有黑板、講台，底下則是整齊排列、面向前方的課桌椅。有了這些道具的配合，集眾教學才成為可能。
臺灣傳統私塾的桌子、椅子沒有固定形式，很多是由學生自行從家中帶來。1896年臺灣總督府設置國語傳習所後，便開始在臺灣引進學習專用的課桌、椅。1900年代日本有設計多機能課桌椅的風潮，也曾被引進臺灣，但沒有普及開來，反而是簡易功能、一桌兩椅分離式的課桌椅，逐漸普及，成為臺灣公學校最主要的課桌椅形式。隨著就學人數增加，學校課桌椅的需求也增加，臺灣出現製作課桌椅的工廠。
課桌椅攸關學生健康的觀念，也從日本傳到臺灣。總督府方面於1903年及1942年兩度調查臺灣兒童的身高，以訂定課桌椅尺寸標準。雖然不是強制規定，但有很多學校都備有不同尺寸的課桌椅。
本文透過檔案、照片與學校報告書，詳細分析臺灣近代學校課桌椅的形式與演變，指出其不僅反映教育理念的轉變，也形塑了學習行為與教育管理方式。本文進一步強調，課桌椅作為物質載體，成為近代學校中學生集體經驗與教育模式的重要象徵，並提供對現代教育空間設計的啟示。

This study explores the crucial role that school desks and chairs played in materializing modern education in Taiwan under Japanese colonial rule, focusing on their use in kōgakkō─public elementary schools primarily attended by Taiwanese children. By examining the interplay between educational ideals, furniture design, school administration, and student health, this research underscores how classroom furniture helped shape the everyday experiences of colonial schooling.
The rise of modern schooling in Taiwan was characterized by mass education, which required standardized spatial arrangements. Classrooms were organized with blackboards and podiums at the front and rows of forward-facing desks and chairs, facilitating the disciplinary order essential to collective instruction. This marked a sharp contrast with the informal, often improvised furnishings of traditional sishu (private schools), where students typically brought their own desks and stools. Beginning in 1896, alongside the establishment of Japanese-language training institutes, the colonial government introduced standardized desks and chairs in 1896. While Japan experimented with multifunctional school furniture in the early 1900s, a simpler model─a double desk paired with two separate chairs─became standard in Taiwan’s public elementary schools. As enrollment increased, local furniture workshops emerged to meet the increasing demand.
Health concerns, especially those related to posture and body height, also influenced furniture design. The Government-General of Taiwan conducted body height surveys in 1903 and 1942 to determine appropriate desk and chair dimensions. Although not officially mandated, many schools adopted furniture in multiple sizes to accommodate students’physical differences.
Drawing on archival documents, photographs, and school reports, this study traces the development of school furniture in colonial Taiwan and argues that desks and chairs were more than mere functional objects; they were material expressions of modern pedagogical ideals. As instruments that structured collective learning and embodied discipline, they offer valuable insights into how educational spaces were conceived, managed, and experienced within the colonial context.