Fearing losing head studying (7)
I believe the answer is:
reading
'studying' is the definition.
('read' can be a synonym of 'study')
'fearing losing head' is the wordplay.
'fearing' becomes 'dreading' ('dread' can be a synonym of 'fear').
'losing head' means to remove the first letter.
'dreading' with its first letter taken away is 'READING'.
(Other definitions for reading that I've seen before include "Perusing; university in Berkshire" , "Studying for a degree - in Berkshire?" , "perusal of books" , "University - studying" , "Oscar Wilde's Gaol" .)