The question of whether unemployed youths would benefit from different pedagogical techniques when learning numeracy skills was examined in a multifaceted qualitative study. Data were collected from the following activities: case studies in which a kit of everyday materials was used to stimulate discussion about numeracy practices with 30 selected young people; interviews of the young people and their teachers; and in-depth interviews with and observation of a subsample of 15 of the young people who represented a mix of males and females from rural and urban environments. Special attention was paid to the ways selected structuring categories (gender, location and social networks, cultural background, and ability/disability) constrain and/or enable the range of numeracy practices available to some young people. Also highlighted was the interplay between mathematical concepts and numeracy practices on the one hand and social practices on the other. Implications of the research for teachers and curriculum designers include building conceptual and implementation bridges between mathematics and their students' social use of math. (The document contains 79 references. Appended are the following: questionnaire for participants; teacher questionnaire; profile of the young people studied; consent form; and logging grid.) (MN)