The aim of this study is to examine the assertiveness levels of students who engage in sports and those who do not. Data obtained by scanning postgraduate theses and articles on this subject in Turkey between 2000 and 2023 were analyzed using the meta-analysis method. Specific criteria were used to identify the individual studies included in this research. Accordingly, the study includes individual studies that are available in full text on the internet and university libraries, presented in the form of postgraduate theses and scientific articles, involving experimental groups of students who engage in sports and those who do not, and possessing sufficient statistical data obtained through survey or experimental models. The data from 21 individual studies included in the meta-analysis were aggregated and analyzed. The total sample size comprises 8,223 individuals. Analyses were conducted using the MAJOR - Meta Analysis plugin of the Jamovi software, employing necessary methods such as effect size analysis, publication bias tests, and heterogeneity assessments. Based on the heterogeneity test, it was determined that the analysis should be conducted under the random effects model. According to the research findings, two different effect sizes were calculated in favor of students engaged in sports in both fixed effects (d= 0.179, 95% CI= 0.13-0.22) and random effects (d= 0.317, 95% CI= 0.09-0.54) models. According to the effect size classification, it was observed that there is a small effect size in favor of those engaged in sports in terms of assertiveness levels. Therefore, it can be stated that there is a significant difference in assertiveness levels between students who engage in sports and those who do not.

Sports, student, assertiveness, meta-analysis.