Nick was an English teacher for thirteen years, first in a Secondary School, then in a Sixth Form College. It is through this experience that many of his research interests arose, particularly the architectures of education, the identity and motivations of teachers, and the acts that take place in the classroom. He completed his PhD part-time alongside teaching, an ironic exploration of educational ontology that drew on the work of Derrida, Rorty and Heidegger. His thesis won the George Cadbury Prize for best thesis in school.
After completion, he was awarded a British Academy postdoctoral research fellowship. He explored the unconscious desires of teachers through the lens of Lacanian psychoanalysis. Extended, unstructured interviews were conducted with trainee teachers to delve into the reasons they choose to enter the profession. This three-year project raised serious questions about the symbolic structure of education and the fantasies it generates. It also problematised the motivations and desires of would-be teachers. He published a successful co-authored monograph in this area entitled ‘The Lacanian Teacher. Education, Pedagogy and Enjoyment’ with the Palgrave Lacan Series (2025). He is currently writing a second monograph that analyses the data from the interviews.