Humane education has been defined as the teaching of compassion and respect related to animal welfare, environmental ethics, and social justice issues. Unlike traditional forms of education which tend to focus on the acquisition of knowledge and skills as an end in its own right, humane education is principally concerned with the development of the learner into a more thoughtful and caring member of society, engaging all domains of learning to promote personal and community connections.

Humane education is dependent upon the integration of four key components. The first of these is knowledge, although not necessarily the same sort of knowledge that is taught as part of traditional academic subjects. For example humane education with respect to animal welfare requires knowledge of such things as animal husbandry and animal sentience, which fall outside the scope of standard biology syllabuses.

The second component is the development of higher order cognitive functioning such as curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking. This cannot be achieved through traditional didactic teaching methods. It instead requires the application of modern active teaching methods that engage the learner at a deeper cognitive level. Application of higher order cognitive skills to pertinent knowledge facilitates the development of an internally consistent schema of positive values in the learner. The promotion of values such as reverence, respect, and responsibility thus forms the third component. The combination of knowledge, cognitive skills, and positive values encourages the learner to behave in a socially beneficial way. With respect to animal welfare education, for example, the learner is empowered to make better decisions in their future lives that ultimately will impact positively on the welfare of those living beings in their own community and beyond.