One of the responsibilities of early childhood education and school is that children and students are given ample opportunities for influence and democratic participation. Research about children’s and students’ influence in education has grown during the latest decades. This paper presents a synthesis of Swedish research on influence in education published 2005-2018. Four themes are identified as main topics in the research undertaken: 1. the significance of the teachers, in which the views and attitudes of teachers, their concrete actions and asymmetrical power relations in education are examined, 2. a child/student perspective on influence, in which students’ perceptions of influence, their actions to gain influence and how status and position in the group affects influence are highlighted, 3. formal arenas for influence, in which the content and processes of class- and school councils are analysed, and 4. the significance of structural factors, which investigates how influence is affected by factors such as gender, educational ambitions, social status and class. The central findings within these themes are clarified, and, based on the synthesis, suggestions for further research about children’s and students influence are given.