Background:
This study investigated the relationship between gifted students’ academic self-concept (ASC) and academic achievement (AC) in earth science with internationally representative high school students from the third International Earth Science Olympiad (IESO) held in Taiwan in 2009.

Material and methods:
Participants’ academic achievement was measured by their total score in IESO written and practical examinations developed by international earth science experts with appropriate validity and reliability, while academic self-concept was measured with Inventory of Self-Confidence in Earth Science Learning (ISCESL), which was developed by Chang and Cheng (2008).

Results:
The results of regression analysis indicated that IESO students’ ASC was significantly correlated with their AC (R2=0.53, p<0.01) with large effect size, Even when compared to other Asian countries such as Korea and Japan, it was found that Taiwan students had the lowest ASC and poor interaction with other IESO students.

Conclusions:
The unique pattern of Taiwanese students exhibited through the 3rd IESO allows us to conclude that for the top notch gifted students, the social and psychological factors, such as popularity and interaction skills, are much stronger than cultural factors on students’ ASC.