Deep Learning to Foster Sports Awareness Among Junior High School Students in Bandung

Abstract

Physical inactivity among adolescents remains a persistent public health and educational concern, and junior high school physical education needs pedagogical approaches that cultivate awareness of physical activity rather than technical skills alone. Objectives: This study examined how deep learning, a competency-based pedagogical framework, was implemented in junior high school physical education, and explored teachers’ and students’ lived experiences of fostering physical literacy and sport awareness across three public schools in Bandung. Methods: Using a qualitative phenomenological design, three physical education teachers and 18 students from SMPN 3, SMPN 27, and SMPN 16 Bandung were purposively sampled. Data from semi-structured interviews, participatory observation, and document analysis were analyzed through bracketing, horizontalization, coding, and composite phenomenological interpretation in NVivo. Findings: Deep learning was enacted through meaningful movement explanation, reflective discussion, contextualized activity, digital journaling, and school-based habituation, and students’ physical activity awareness shifted when movement was connected to bodily meaning, emotional safety, peer relations, family support, and future-oriented healthy living. Conclusion: Deep learning can foster physical literacy and sport awareness when teachers combine authentic movement experiences with structured reflection, ethical care, and a supportive school ecology. These findings suggest that teacher professional development and school routines centered on reflection and meaning-making offer a practical pathway for cultivating lifelong physical activity habits among adolescents.