The craft of creative practice doctoral supervision: invigorating a field through shared experiences

Purpose Creative practice doctoral education and supervision are fields in constant flux, as they require the flexibility to engage with organic and symbiotic processes and complex systems of inquiry. As interdisciplinary educators working across the fields of media and communications studies, cultural studies, art and design, the authors reflect upon supervision experiences to generate insight into current creative practice doctoral education modes and approaches within the academy. These experiences provide tangible examples of the flexible supervision framework developed by the authors as a means to improve the doctoral experience for their students. Design/methodology/approach By sharing the process by which this framework has developed, this paper offers a conceptual take on creative practice doctoral supervision, acknowledging a need for more engaged discussions and exploration of creative practice research and supervision approaches. The authors offer insights about the role supervisors can play in crafting methodology, catalysing innovation and supporting students as they navigate institutional processes and support structures (or the lack of). The authors argue that it is necessary to form a flexible and adaptable framework to support and sustain nuanced modes of creative practice doctoral supervision and research design. Findings Drawing on the authors’ experiences of doctoral supervision and articulating complementary pedagogical approaches, this study offers a flexible supervision framework that provides an adaptable toolbox for supervisors of creative practice doctoral research and incorporates the idea of thinking through making. Moreover, supervisory experiences have led authors to explore ways to enable supervisors to collaborate with doctoral students in carving or weaving methodologies. Originality/value Recognising the exploratory and fluid nature of creative practice research, this paper offers a flexible framework that enables supervisors to draw from and adapt complementary pedagogical tools through different stages of the doctoral project. While this framework supports supervisors to respond with agility and creativity as the project develops, this in turn provides an environment where students can drive the research with confidence and eventual autonomy. In addition to offering a flexible framework, this paper invites further discussions, reflections and sharing of creative practice doctoral supervision as a means to invigorate the field of supervision and improve students’ research journeys.