Britzman's research connects psychoanalysis with contemporary pedagogy,[1] teacher education, social inequality, identity formation, queer theory,[2] problems of intolerance and historical crisis.
It defines how fundamental Freudian concepts such as the psychical apparatus, the drives, the unconscious, and the development of morality are related to the field of education.
In 2013 Britzman was working on a three-year research project titled "the emotional world of teaching: A psychoanalytic inquiry."
[9] The next year, she was named a Tier 1 York Research Chair in Pedagogy and Psycho-Social Transformations.
[11] Britzman was the first Faculty of Education member to be honoured with the title of York University Distinguished Research Professor.