Literacy Practices in Action: A Four Resource Model Analysis of Customer-centricity

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the concept of literacy practices as ‘socially-situated’ in the post-modern era, by exploring and identifying the various kinds of literacy practices employed by the Pakistani tailors in their professional work domains. ‘The Four Resources Model’, as designed by Serafini (2012), was employed as the principal framework with an intention to apply the concept of literacy practices to the four resources of designing, navigation, interpretation and interrogation; while remaining cognizant of the fluctuating nature of the communication. The study’s findings suggest that the Pakistani tailors, despite being formally illiterate, use a wide variety of literacy practices in support of their professional domain, including textual, verbal, visual, and digital literacies. It has also been found that these tailors frequently shift across and modify these practices in line with the needs of their customers. These findings sufficiently demonstrate that the post-modern construct of literacy practices as a set of skills rather than a mere ability to read and write is correct and in line with the dictates of the modern times.