What is the relationship between self-concept and achievement?

A strong and robust relationship exists between self-concept and achievement, and this relationship makes sense intuitively. For example, students who believe they're good at math have this belief because of a history of doing well in math, and the same is true for other academic areas. However, little relationship exists between physical self-concept and achievement (S. Chen et al., 2012). We've all known highly skilled athletes, for example, who are modest achievers. For social self-concept and achievements, it becomes more complex. For instance, believing that we're socially skilled doesn't necessarily translate to achievement, but a link between social competence and achievement has been found beginning with children in early elementary school (Walker & Henderson, 2012).