Between Aspiration and Infrastructure: The Opportunity-Reality Divergence in STEM Teacher Education in Karachi, Pakistan

A foundational assumption in applying Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to STEM teacher education is that prospective teachers' perceived behavioural control reflects the actual enabling conditions of their institutional environment. This study tests that assumption empirically in the context of STEM integration in Karachi, Pakistan, one of the most understudied urban teacher education landscapes in South Asia. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, we surveyed 310 prospective teachers and interviewed 15 teacher educators. Findings reveal that while prospective teachers held strongly positive perceptions of integrated STEM education and available opportunities, teacher educators consistently reported that actual STEM infrastructure, such as laboratories, digital tools, and interdisciplinary planning time, is substantially more limited. Furthermore, knowledge of STEM education emerged as the strongest predictor of positive perceptions, with self-efficacy and behavioural intentions also making significant contributions. Ultimately, the study identifies a systematic opportunity-reality divergence in which prospective teachers overestimate institutional support. This pattern reframes the local policy problem: the barrier to STEM implementation in Pakistan is not insufficient teacher motivation, but the structural absence of the enabling conditions that motivated teachers assume exist.